Posted on 10/07/2015 11:59:27 AM PDT by Lorianne
The 500 largest American companies hold more than $2.1 trillion in accumulated profits offshore to avoid U.S. taxes and would collectively owe an estimated $620 billion in U.S. taxes if they repatriated the funds, according to a study released on Tuesday.
The study, by two left-leaning non-profit groups, found that nearly three-quarters of the firms on the Fortune 500 list of biggest American companies by gross revenue operate tax haven subsidiaries in countries like Bermuda, Ireland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
The conglomerate General Electric has booked $119 billion offshore in 18 tax havens, software firm Microsoft is holding $108.3 billion in five tax haven subsidiaries and drug company Pfizer is holding $74 billion in 151 subsidiaries, the study said.
Fifty-seven of the companies disclosed that they would expect to pay a combined $184.4 billion in additional U.S. taxes if their profits were not held offshore. Their filings indicated they were paying about 6 percent in taxes overseas, compared to a 35 percent U.S. corporate tax rate, it said.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Let’s keep corporate taxes, tariffs and trade barriers high to ensure international companies never return that cash to America to use for hiring Americans.
I work for such a company.
We keep hiring like mad in places like Singapore, Ireland, India, Philippines, etc. to make sure that cash never touches American shores.
Gee. I’d have a few thousand more locally employed American co-workers if the penalty for doing business here wasn’t so danged high.
Or stock buybacks or dividends or acquiring other companies, which is what the money will most likely be used for.
That is really depressing
Pop Quiz.
You are a Democrat Voter. When confronted with these facts, which of the following policies do you support?
1) A fair, rational and comprehensive tax reform that will encourage companies to repatriate these funds back to the United States.
2) Televised public floggings of corporate executives responsible for making these decisions. Live from Yankee Stadium.
You are correct. 80% on up of repatriated money will not be invested here and create jobs. It will be used as you mention for stock buy backs and dividends. Apple has 200 billion off shore. I doubt it could invest more than 10 billion here.
But still I am not opposed to Donald Trumps plan to charge a one time 10% tax on repatriated billions. 10% is probably fair and will bring billions back home even if most goes to dividends and buying up companies.
Even if the money goes to stock buybacks it raises the price of the stock, so all stockholders would benefit.
I don’t blame them. US tax policy is oppressive and counterproductive. .
I agree.
People forget the companies have paid tax in the overseas countries
so paying a one time 10% tax to bring money back is very fair.
They’re now multinationals. When the time comes that doing business in the US is no longer profitable, they will simply pack up and move on to more hospitable locations.
Why would they give up more than $600,000,000,000 just to bring the $2.1T home? At that scale, there isn’t much motivation to bring what of it you can here.
Why would companies bring money back here and pay 10% tax on it when they can leave it overseas and pay none?
Oh, so democrat politicians want to get their hands on more of other peoples' money? Why don't they just go out to Malibu or the Hamptons and stick up other liberals at gunpoint? At least they would be robbing people who are in sympathy with their goals.
At least the companies targeted here remain headquartered in the U.S. It would be interesting to know how many big companies have at least the outline of an expatriation plan in place. The most fundamental political right is the right to leave, and democrats seem intent on maximizing the incentives to do so.
Oh, democrat politicians want to get their hands on more of other peoples' money? Why don't they just go out to Malibu or the Hamptons and stick up other liberals at gunpoint? At least they would be robbing people who are in sympathy with their goals.
To distribute this cash as dividends and buybacks to increase their stock price. So pay the 10% or get nothing.
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