Mitt Romney was forced to defend his offshore accounts on Friday when confronted by a woman at a town hall event in Maine, CBS News reports.
"Do you think it's patriotic of you to stash away your money in the Cayman Islands?" the woman asked, according to a video of the event, available above.
After the jeers and boos from the crowd subsided, the former Governor of Massachusetts said, "That's okay, that's a good question. C'mon, I gotta take some shots now and then or it won't be interesting."
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE
Romney proceeded to explain that a he doesn't manage his money. Instead, a blind trustee has managed his money for the last ten years, because Romney "wanted to make sure I didn't have a conflict."
While he didn't address the question of "patriotism," he did say his offshore investments didn't save him any money on his taxes.
"I have not saved one dollar by having an investment somewhere outside this country," Romney said. "The investment in an offshore account was to invest back here in the United States and the reason it was there they explained was so foreign investors could also invest in that entity. So I pay all the taxes I'm required to pay under the law, and by the way, not a dollar more. Thank you."
The crowed erupted in applause after Romney answered.
Following pressure from other Republican presidential candidates and from the media, Romney in January released his 2010 tax returns and estimates for his 2011 filings. The Associated Press reported days before the records were released that Romney's offshore accounts could contain between $7 million and $32 million.
"There have been reports that these investments are evading taxes," Brad Malt, Romney's tax lawyer, said in a conference call when the tax returns were made public. "Again that is flatly wrong...The blind trust's investment in the Cayman funds is taxed the same as if Governor Romney made the investments himself."
Independent tax policy experts said Romney's use of the Cayman-based investments was legal, but some criticized the strategy as a province of wealthy investors allowed by a tax code studded with loopholes.
"The bottom line is, they're taking advantage of a system that's flawed," said Nicole Tichon, director of Tax Justice Network USA, part of a global network promoting tax transparency. "It may be legal, but these are loopholes that show problems in our tax code."
Romney currently leads the Republican presidential contest with 112 delegates. 1,144 delegates are needed to secure the party's nomination.