Rep. Alan Grayson
Yowza....
U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, the outspoken, populist Democrat who thunders against Wall Street fat cats,and used to to joke about Mitt Romney's low tax bill, incorporated a couple hedge funds in the Cayman Islands so investors could avoid taxes.
Grayson Fund Ltd. and Grayson Master Fund were incorporated in 2011 in the Cayman Islands, a well known tax Haven that Romney used as well, records show.. That was the same year he wrote in the Huffington Post that the IRS should audit every Fortune 500 company because so many appear to be "evading taxes through transfer pricing and offshore tax havens."
In a phone interview Wednesday, Grayson said the funds were incorporated in Grand Cayman at the advice of an attorney he declined to name. It was a vehicle for foreign investors to invest in his funds while limiting their tax liabilities, he said, but no money had been invested in them yet.
...
"When I set up my investment funds I set it up like everyone else," Grayson said, complaining about the Tampa Bay Times looking for "some stupid, bull---- story. ... You want to write sh-- about it, and you can't because not a single dollar of taxes has been avoided," he snapped.
Asked whether it was appropriate for a member of congress and potential U.S. Senator to set up an investment fund with an eye toward soliciting foreign investments in the future, Grayson scoffed.
"Are you f------- kidding? I set up a fund that might solicit foreign investors....I have no present intention of soliciting foreign investors," he said. "Your perception issue is bull----."
"This is even worse than Grayson's girlfriend might run for congress 18 months from now," referring to a recent Politico story attributed to no named sources. "This is a whole nother level of bull----....Are are you some kind of sh-----g robot? You go around sh----g on on people?"
Alrighty then.
I'll admit I've enjoyed his fiery antics and find him an interesting, amusing person. Sort of the same way I viewed Jim Traficant. As long as they are looking out for their people, a little side action never hurt nobody. Im very tolerant of this sort of thing if a politician is getting good things done. But I also understand modern politics and that many people are less forgiving. A Senate run? Methinks not.
However, Congress needs characters right now. Used to be full of em.