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October 14, 2004
More quotes from the auto dealer
Here is another story about Jamie Auffenberg -
Auto dealer says tax break was proper
BY MIKE FITZGERALD
BELLEVILLE - A controversial tax shelter program based in the U.S. Virgin Islands enabled car dealer Jamie Auffenberg to save $1.4 million on his federal income tax bill four years ago.
However, Auffenberg disputed recent media reports that he only paid $97,000 in taxes in 2000 on income of $6.4 million -- instead of the $2.3 million tax bill he would have faced if he had claimed Illinois as his legal residence.
To bolster his case, Auffenberg showed a Belleville News-Democrat reporter copies of his personal tax returns for 2000 showing he paid $458,418 in income taxes that year.
Auffenberg, 53, acknowledged that he has benefited from taking part in the tax incentive program. But he said stories in the New York Times and St. Louis Post-Dispatch understated the level of commitment he has had to make to the Virgin Islands' economy to receive the tax benefit.
Click here to read the whole article
Posted by afinta at October 14, 2004 12:06 PM
Comments
Did this guy sell any cars on the island? Did any of his profits get spent on the island to boost the local economy? Is the tax program just for US mainlanders to avoid paying uncle sam with no benefit to the USVI resident?
Posted by: JC at October 31, 2004 06:59 PM
He didn't sell anything down here as far as I can tell from the news. Each EDC entity gets their own specific criteria to meet for inclusion (someone can correct if that is wrong but I am pretty sure it is correct). It sounds like he made real estate investments in St. Croix as per his EDC agreement. This program was not set up as a scam, it just seems to be that there are individuals abusing it, in an illegal way.
Posted by: Anthony at November 1, 2004 12:32 PM
