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October 13, 2004
Car dealer gets break living abroad
Well, the news is coming from all over the place. Here is an article from a St. Louis, MO newspaper site about an auto dealer there who is in the EDC program and managed to pay only 100k in taxes on 2.4 million of income. I don't have a lot of sympathy for a guy like this - this isn't what the program was set up for, and fools like this (I can't believe the guy actually gave the reporter quotes - just shut up and call your lawyer) who have abused this system are the reason the rules are going to become much tougher, and probably drive legitimate businesses from the Territorty.
By William Lamb
Of the Post-Dispatch
10/11/2004
Jamie Auffenberg, who operates 12 Metro East car dealerships, was able to save nearly $2.1 million in federal income taxes four years ago by claiming St. Croix, in the Virgin Islands, as his primary residence, court documents show.
Auffenberg acknowledged in a telephone interview last week that he participates in a tax-incentive program that Congress created in 1960 to promote economic activity in the Virgin Islands. Federal authorities say that the program, which taxes certain qualified residents at an annual rate of just 3.5 percent, has become a target for abuse by wealthy Americans.
Auffenberg is president of the St. Clair Auto Mall in O'Fallon, Ill. His wife, Margaret, has a house in Swansea that is listed in her name. Jamie Auffenberg said he had established legal residency in St. Croix in 2000 and insisted that the arrangement is legal and proper.
Click here for the whole article
Posted by afinta at October 13, 2004 02:36 PM
