[Major_Risktaker]

Since 1999, General Electric Co. deferred U.S. taxes on as much as $21 billion in income earned overseas. Congress is now considering changing the law so the company may never have to pay those taxes.

So who pays for the BIG STICK? GE makes profits overseas and should help pay for the expenses of maintaining US government institutions overseas.

GE's Balance Sheet

I guess the tax liabilities are in the balance sheet somewhere.

[HolgerDansk]

GE makes profits overseas and should help pay for the expenses of maintaining US government institutions overseas

It comes as a suprise to most people, but they already do pay taxes on overseas income -- to the overseas government where the money was made. There's no international "tax credit" for taxes paid to some other government, akin to what happens in the US when you make money in one state but reside in another. So, effectively, US companies get taxed twice on income from overseas operations.

[Poohbah]

I have news for you. The defense industry jokes about their work being "pro bono." I worked for one company that didn't get paid for six months--we had to borrow money, and the law didn't allow to deduct the interest as any sort of business expense. When all was said and done, we lost about ten megabucks on that contract.