DUBLIN: Sen. Ron Johnson on Monday defended his investment in an Irish company listed as the European distributor for the Oshkosh plastics firm he ran before being elected, denying that he is using the overseas company as a tax dodge.
Records show Johnson owns 9.9% of DP Lenticular, a Dublin-based firm that says it distributes specialized plastic sheets made by Pacur Inc., the firm Johnson headed for years before he took office in 2011. He still has a small ownership interest in Pacur.
Johnson’s Democratic opponent, former U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, alleges that DP Lenticular is a shell company that appears to be a way for Pacur and Johnson to legally dodge paying some U.S. taxes. Feingold’s team has emphasized that DP Lenticular has a single employee, who is a Belgium citizen, and is controlled by a Spanish holding company that pays no taxes.
By owning less than 10% of the Irish company, Johnson does not have to report his stake in the international company to the Internal Revenue Service, but he has disclosed the holding in his annual Senate ethics statements.
“It’s not that Sen. Johnson doesn’t understand the issues facing middle class and working families,” said Michael Tyler, spokesman for Feingold, who lost his seat to Johnson in 2010. “It’s that, just like Donald Trump, his own interests come first.”
But speaking to reporters after a Monday morning appearance at Greater Praise Church of God in Christ in Milwaukee, Johnson said DP Lenticular is a legitimate business that helps Pacur sell its products in the European market. His brother Barry is listed as a director for the Irish firm.
Johnson campaign officials emphasized that DP Lenticular is not a subsidiary of Pacur and that Johnson pays state and federal income taxes on the all the dividend income he receives from the Irish firm.
