Speaking of Harken...Geez! Bush talks the talk but action speak louder than words and Shrub's actions are scandalous.
A request to Shrub...the next time you open your mouth about cleaning up corporate fraud. Get a mirror and please, please, please give the American public a nose clamp, as your utterances are developing a malodorous stench.
"WASHINGTON - Harken Energy Corp. set up an offshore subsidiary in the Cayman Islands tax haven while President Bush sat on Harken's board of directors in 1989, the Daily News has learned.
The revelation comes as Republican lawmakers are roundly criticizing the practice of U.S. companies setting up offshore subsidiaries, usually to skirt American disclosure laws or corporate income taxes on foreign income.
Even White House spokesman Ari Fleischer condemned the tactic yesterday, saying, "The President is concerned about corporations in America who take advantage, set up operations outside of America, in an effort to lower their taxes."
A spokesman for Bush said the offshore company did not save any taxes because it failed to find oil or make a profit.
Harken registered Harken Bahrain Oil Co. on Sept. 1, 1989, according to Cayman Islands government documents.
It was formed as the Texas-based Harken sought a $25 million contract with the Bahrain government to drill in the waters off the Arab islands.
Harken filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission say the Bahrain contract was run "through its newly-formed, wholly-owned subsidiary, Harken Bahrain Oil Co."
Records show that Harken Bahrain was paid at least $2 million by 1993 for its Bahrain operation, which never did strike oil.
Bush was on Harken's board of directors and a paid consultant from 1986 to 1993. |
