Apple's not alone in stashing cash in offshore tax havens as 18 of the U.S.' biggest companies skirt $92 billion in taxes: Report

  • Some of the U.S.' largest corporations keep much of their profits in places like Ireland, the Bahamas and the Caymen Islands, where corporate tax rates can be as low as zero
  • General Electric holds roughly $110 billion in places like the Bahamas, Bermuda, Ireland and Singapore
  • U.S. corporate tax rates range from 30-percent to 39-percent

By Daily Mail Reporter

PUBLISHED: 23:13 GMT, 3 June 2013 | UPDATED: 23:20 GMT, 3 June 2013

After a Senate committee revealed last month that Apple skirted billions in taxes by stashing cash in offshore tax havens, the company quickly became the poster child of big businesses that take advantage of dramatically lower corporate tax rates around the world. But it turns out Apple isn't alone - according to a new report, 18 of the largest companies in the U.S. avoid paying U.S. taxes in the exact same way, dodging an estimated $92 billion, collectively.

According to the report, conducted by the tax-advocacy organization Citizens for Tax Justice, 18 of the U.S.' Fortune 500 companies - like Nike, Microsoft, American Express and Oracle - disclose information in their annual financial reports that indicates that they keep billions of dollars in profits offshore where corporate tax rates can be in single-digit percentages.

In the Bahamas, for example, the corporate tax rate is zero. If the companies were to keep their money in the U.S., they would be subject to corporate tax rates ranging from 30-percent to 39-percent.

Apple CEO Timothy Cook explains to Congress how the company stashes billions of dollars in profits to avoid paying U.S. corporate income tax

Apple CEO Timothy Cook explains to Congress how the company stashes billions of dollars in profits to avoid paying U.S. corporate income tax

The CTJ says places like Bermuda and the Caymen Islands are likely the locations of choice for many of the tax-skirting corporations to stash their money.

 

More...

Under current U.S. tax code, large corporations can indefinitely defer paying U.S. income taxes on their offshore profits. It's not until the money is repatriated that the U.S. can apply any taxes to any corporate profits - and that's assuming that these corporations ever bring the money back to the U.S.

Even when the money is brought back into the country, corporations rarely pay the full corporate tax rate on profits they've kept offshore to the U.S. - companies are allowed a “foreign tax credit” against their U.S. tax when and if the profits are subject to U.S. tax. This means that a company that pays a 25-percent tax rate on income it's kept offshore - to a foreign government - would only have to pay a 10-percent tax rate if it brings the money back into the United States.

Cha-ching!

Cha-ching!

But the CTJ also found that 22 companies that don't disclose where they keep their money hold an estimated $720 billion in un-repatriated income. Topping that list is General Electric, which holds roughly $110 billion in places like the Bahamas, Bermuda, Ireland and Singapore. Pfizerr got the number two spot, with $73 billion spread between Ireland, Bermuda, the Caymen Islands and several other low-tax nations.

Because stashing money in places that have low corporate income tax rates isn't illegal, and because the CEOs of these companies report to stockholders, business experts have said that for a company to not squirrel money away in places with low tax rates would be the equivalent of corporate malpractice. 

But lawmakers are attempting to fix the loopholes that allows these companies to duck paying taxes.

Several of the corporations on the CTJ's list have suggested granting a holiday on taxes for companies that want to repatriate their income that's currently being kept overseas. 

Comments (19)

Share what you think

 View all

The comments below have been moderated in advance.

and there is nothing you can do about it - ibrahim ahmed , london, United Kingdom, 04/6/2013 01:08-------------> yes they could have done something by passing obama's bill to close loopholes but the republicans are all funded by these companies nd there was no way they would betray their donors....corporations are killing america through lobbying by groups such as the tea party....most tea party members are too old and ignorant to know who funds the tea party.

2
3
 Click to rate

Of course companies are doing this; it's legal. Close the loophole, make foreign held accounts for money made in the US pay taxes in the US and stop whining that corporations "aren't being fair."

1
5
 Click to rate

First our Congress creates tax laws, then these companies comply with them, and then Congress complains about the result. Companies do not pay taxes, people pay taxes. Simplify the tax code and this money will go the shareholders, where it will be taxed, or to create new products which will be purchased and more taxes paid.

0
6
 Click to rate

Ya know, if the USA didn't have the highest corporate tax rate in the industrialized world - 35%, perhaps these corporations wouldn't go to such links to avoid paying them.

1
2
 Click to rate

And my fellow Americans continue to be sidetracked by silliness . They demonstrate their anger at trivia instead of directing it where it needs to go. Wake up. If these companies paid their share we could have the American Dream. Instead we carry on: the poor can't pay and the rich WON'T pay so we are monkey in the middle.........

1
1
 Click to rate

QUOTE: "and there is nothing you can do about it" - ibrahim ahmed , london, United Kingdom, 04/6/2013 Actually, there is nothing YOU can do about it. Americans CAN change their tax laws, easily. Not only that they can make them retro-active and recoup many years of taxes evaded. This money isn't gone yet. The tax structure is about to undergo an overhauling and hopefully these measures WILL be taken for the good of the country.

1
1
 Click to rate

They missed all the churchs and evangelist organizations that pay NO tax of any kind. The companies listed get tax breaks because they employ millions, who PAY TAXES. I don't think it's fair to list these taxpaying companies and ignore a multi-billion dollar a year business that pays nothing.

1
1
 Click to rate

nothing new

0
2
 Click to rate

18 companies & $92 billion?!? Who the hell can blame them? Ever wonder why so many companies have left the US or why wages have fallen? The US government sees everyone's wallet as an unending revenue stream. Finding ways to avoid having your pocket picked has become just as important as maintaining your place in the market.

1
1
 Click to rate

And if these idiots in Congress would lower the corporate income tax rate and the rate to repatriate money earned overseas, they could legally get their grubby mitts on the money

1
1
 Click to rate

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.

Who is this week's top commenter? Find out now