Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s campaign on Wednesday partied with wealthy donors on a 150-foot yacht that flies the flag of the Cayman Islands, according to an ABC News report.
Members of the Romney Victory Council, who have each raised more than $1 million for the candidate, mingled with Romney’s brother, Scott, and other relatives in Tampa aboard the luxury yacht “Cracker Bay.”
While they waited outside the unadvertised event, ABC News snapped photos of the Cayman Islands civil ensign flag flying on the yacht’s stern.
Gov. Bob McDonnell (R-VA) was reportedly scheduled to speak to the more than 50 people attending.
“It was a really nice event,” billionaire energy industry executive Wilbur Ross told the network. “These are good supporters.”
Romney came under fire earlier this year when it was revealed that he had millions stashed in the Cayman Islands, a notorious tax haven. In August, Vanity Fair reported that Romney still had a personal stake in at least 12 of Bain Capital’s Cayman Island funds, worth up to $30 million.
The candidate recently insisted to Fox News host Chris Wallace that “there was no reduction — not one dollar reduction — in taxes by virtue of having an account in Switzerland or a Cayman Islands investment.”
“I think it’s ironic they do this aboard a yacht that doesn’t even pay its taxes,” a woman who lives at the marina where Cracker Bay is moored told ABC News.
(Source: ABC News and RAwStory.com)
