FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Daniel Goldman’s, D-N.Y., non-profit organization has reported investments worth upwards of $32 million in private funds organized in the Cayman Islands, a popular tax haven for wealthy investors and hedge funds.
The Richard W. Goldman Family Foundation — which Goldman founded a decade ago with his two siblings in memory of their father to “promote equality” and eliminate barriers for the disadvantaged — had investments worth $6.1 million and $26.1 million, respectively, in two private funds based in the Cayman Islands by the U.S. firm BBR Partners LLC., as of December 2020, according to the group’s most recent tax filings reviewed by Fox News Digital.
Documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission show the two funds, BBR Equity Long/Short Ltd. and BBR Absolute Return Ltd., are organized in the Cayman Islands.
The Cayman Islands serve as a popular tax haven for wealthy Americans because the small island country has no personal income taxes, no capital gains taxes, no payroll taxes, no corporate taxes and doesn’t withhold taxes on foreign entities, according to a December report from the Corporate Finance Institute. The scheme, which has faced scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers for years, ultimately allows investments from groups like Goldman’s non-profit to avoid paying federal taxes that would otherwise be owed.
In addition to the $32.2 million invested overseas, Goldman’s foundation invested another $13 million in funds managed by BBR Partners, but organized in America. Overall, the non-profit reported assets worth $82.2 million in 2020.
According to the group’s 2020 tax filings, Goldman, who is a freshman congressman and member of the powerful House Oversight Committee, served as its secretary and treasurer of the foundation, giving him direct oversight of its finances. He had assumed the secretary position in 2012 and the treasurer position in 2018.
TOP DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSWOMAN HAS UP TO $1 MILLION IN FUND TIED TO CAYMAN ISLANDS
The New York lawmaker’s most recent financial disclosure filed with the House of Representatives Clerk showed that he has maintained his position on the foundation’s board of advisors as of July 2022.
But while his foundation reported investments in funds organized in the Cayman Islands, Goldman has repeatedly called on the government to hike taxes for the wealthiest Americans since taking office earlier this year.
“At a time of record wealth inequality, the wealthiest among us must help to provide more access for others to pursue the American dream that they have benefited so much from,” Goldman said in a statement last week.
“I’m proud to cosponsor the Billionaire Minimum Income Tax as a long-overdue piece of legislation that will level the playing field, incentivize investment in the economy, and expand opportunities for underserved communities,” he continued in the statement.
In January, he tweeted that he had voted against GOP legislation aimed at restricting the size of the Internal Revenue Service, a bill he said would gut the agency’s ability to stop tax cheats, and “protect large corporations and wealthy Americans.”
“While everyday Americans are struggling to make ends meet, we need to ensure that everybody — especially the wealthy — pays their fair share,” Goldman tweeted.
In addition, Goldman is an heir to the Levi Strauss jean company fortune and has an estimated net worth of between $64 million and $253 million, Bloomberg reported last year. His high net worth makes him one of the wealthiest members of Congress and firmly in the top 1% of all Americans.
The Richard W. Goldman Family Foundation and Goldman’s congressional office didn’t respond to requests for comment.