Romney's business used tax deduction he claimed he didn't know existed

The Presidential debates are over but that doesn’t mean what was said is now old news.  In fact, something Mitt Romney said in the first debate on October 3^rd is back in the news.  In my blog after that debate I said this Romney statement that should be getting more attention:

ROMNEY: “The second topic, which is you said you get a deduction for taking a plant overseas. Look, I've been in business for 25 years. I have no idea what you're talking about. I maybe need to get a new accountant.”

I said that Romney’s statement didn’t pass the laugh test.  Surely Romney understands our nation’s tax policy and what business expenses are.  After all, that is what Bain Capital was largely about, understanding the intricacies of our tax code in order to offer its clients and own executives ways to avoid paying taxes.

Today’s story in the Huffington Post exposes Romney’s flippant debate response regarding having “no idea” about a business deduction for moving jobs out of the country.  He simply wasn’t telling the truth.

        Bain Capital appears to have benefited from a provision in the U.S. tax code that
        grants companies tax breaks for costs associated with offshoring American jobs.
        Bain profited from the closure of a Denver factory in early 2001, when SEC filings
        list Romney as the sole shareholder and CEO of multiple Bain enterprises.

Stopping businesses from getting tax deductions for moving jobs out of this country is cited by small-business owners as the number one thing government can do to create more jobs at home.  So it is important that we have a President who is on our side on this issue and not pretending the problem doesn’t exist. 

Romney: Big Bird you’re fired

Candidate Mitt Romney has been criticized for his past statement that he likes to fire people.  Apparently the same holds true for large yellow birds. 

But as much as Romney’s comment of defunding PBS resulted in the biggest twitter explosion of last night’s debate, it was the GOP candidate’s denial that federal tax law gives tax deductions for businesses that move jobs out of the country that should be getting more attention than it has.

ROMNEY: “The second topic, which is you said you get a deduction for taking a plant overseas. Look, I've been in business for 25 years. I have no idea what you're talking about. I maybe need to get a new accountant.”

Politifact reported last year something all multinational corporations already know.  Businesses can take tax deductions for the costs of closing down a business in the U.S. and moving it to another country.

And Mitt Romney might claim that he doesn’t know anything about this, which doesn’t pass the laugh test, but small businesses understand the significance an absurdity of this federal tax incentive.  Encouraging the moving of jobs, and thus customers, out of our country is very much on our radar. 

In a poll released earlier this year by the American Sustainable Business Council, Main Street Alliance and Small Business Majority (any one of which should have been cited by President Obama last night), small business owners were asked what government action would do the most to create jobs. 

The top response was “Eliminating incentives for employers to move jobs overseas.”

So how do we square this denial of Romney?  Does he not understand our nation’s tax policy?  That would be difficult to believe since Romney founded Bain Capital that was devoted to understanding the intricacies of our tax code in order to offer its clients and own executives ways to avoid paying taxes.

The only other explanation is that Romney knows better and simply wasn’t being honest with the American people.  Why? 

Maybe Romney likes this tax policy because it gives him and other big CEO’s the opportunity to tell American workers—you’re jobs are going to another country and you’re fired.