Romney says putting his money in Switzerland and the Cayman Islands wasn't about reducing his taxes

Mitt Romney on Fox News Sunday, denying that his offshore bank accounts and financial investments saved him one single dime on his taxes:

WALLACE: You have taken a lot of heat about tax returns. And I want to ask you one specific question about that.

You've been running for president for almost eight years. And the question is, why didn't you, years ago, somewhere over the last eight years, go to the people running your blind trust and say to them, let's get out of the Swiss bank accounts, let's get out of the investments in the Cayman Islands, even if it means we have to maybe pay more taxes, so we can clear the decks politically?

ROMNEY: Well, first of all, there was no reduction, not one dollar of reduction in taxes, by virtue of having an account in Switzerland or a Cayman Islands investment. Those -- the dollars of taxes remained exactly the same. There was no tax savings at all.

And the conduct of the -- of the -- of the trustee in making investments was entirely consist with U.S. law and all the taxes paid were those legally owed and there was no tax savings by virtue of those entities.

And then Mitt Romney last Thursday, pointing out that offshore investments serve as tax havens for big business:

"Big business is doing fine in many places," Romney said during a campaign fundraiser Thursday. "They get the loans they need, they can deal with all the regulation. They know how to find ways to get through the tax code, save money by putting various things in the places where there are low tax havens around the world for their businesses."

So according to Mitt Romney, when businesses park their money overseas, it's often part of a strategy to save money by reducing their overall tax bill. But when he does it, he's just doing what every patriotic American would do: put their hard-earned cash into financial instruments domiciled in Switzerland and the Cayman Islands. The fact that when businesses do it they are seeking to lower their tax bill is just a coincidence.

And if you believe that, then you believe the only reason Mitt Romney won't release his tax returns is that he doesn't want to reveal how much money he gave to his church.