Josh Harder stashes his wealth in Cayman Islands tax dodge
Today, a new investigation exposed how multimillionaire Josh Harder stashes his wealth in the notorious Cayman Islands tax haven.
Even worse, Harder is refusing to get rid of his Cayman Islands accounts now that they’ve been exposed.
“The scam that is Josh Harder pretending he serves the Central Valley instead of just himself is over. Josh Harder must immediately dump his Cayman Island accounts and apologize to Valley families for enriching himself at their expense.” – NRCC Spokesperson Ben Petersen
In case you missed it…
Harder’s Haven
POLITICO
Daniel Lippman
Rep. Josh Harder, a Central Valley Democrat who has called for the government to stop wealthy people from dodging taxes, has thousands of dollars in funds based in the offshore tax haven of the Cayman Islands, according to financial disclosures, our colleague Daniel Lippman reports.
Harder owns between $15,000 and $50,000 of BVA Fund IX, a feeder fund into Bessemer Venture Associates IX LP, and between $1,000 and $15,000 in BVA Fund VIII, a feeder fund into Bessemer Venture Associates VIII LP, according to his 2022 personal financial disclosure. Both funds are domiciled in the Caymans, according to the funds’ profiles on Pitchbook. The representative also reported earning between $5,000 and $15,000 that year in “partnership income” from his investment in the first fund. Harder got the stakes in the funds as part of his employment when he worked at the global venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners before he was elected to Congress. The Caymans, which don’t have a corporate tax, are regularly used by multinational companies to avoid paying taxes. But there is no indication that Bessemer Venture Partners violates U.S. tax laws by having some of its funds based in the islands.
Harder has repeatedly railed on social media against rich people avoiding taxes and in a June 2021 press release he called on the IRS to close tax loopholes so billionaires could pay “their fair share.”
Harder’s office said his job at Bessemer was to make investments in companies in exchange for an equity stake, and that he had no control of where the funds are located. “Rep. Harder has never bought, sold, or traded a single stock while in office,” Harder spokesperson Jen Fox said in a statement. “He has no control over funds from his old career and has never and will never take a dime of corporate PAC money. Josh will continue being a leader for campaign finance reform including banning members from ever trading stocks or accepting corporate PAC money.”
A Bessemer spokesperson said in a statement that all Bessemer investors every year are provided with Schedule K-1s, which report taxable income to be included in their annual tax return.