September 09, 2015

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Top 500 US Firms Have Over 200 Trillion in Tax Havens from here New report suggests that overseas cash holdings mean US is losing out on an estimated $620 billion in tax revenue The largest 500 U.S. companies would owe an estimated $620 billion in U.S. taxes were it not for the more than $2.1 trillion in offshore cash that most of the firms hold in foreign tax havens, according to a study released Tuesday. The report (PDF), based on an analysis of company filings to the IRS and the Securities and Exchange Commission, was authored by the Citizens for Tax Justice and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund. It found that close to three-quarters of the 500 biggest companies by gross revenue utilize tax havens through foreign subsidiaries in countries with low tax liability, including Bermuda, Ireland, the Netherlands and the Cayman Islands. “Most of America’s largest corporations maintain subsidiaries in offshore tax havens,” the report said. “At least 358 companies, nearly 72 percent of the Fortune 500, operate subsidiaries in tax haven jurisdictions as of the end of 2014.” The study also found that in five of the commonly used tax haven countries — Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, British Virgin Island, Bahamas and Luxembourg — the reported profits of subsidiaries of U.S. companies were more than GDPs of the countries in which the firms were registered. Apple is by far the largest holder of offshore money not subject to U.S. taxes, with $181.1 billion. If those profits were taxed at U.S. rates, the company would pay $59.2...

Jodi Dean

Jodi Dean is a political theorist.

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