Thursday, October 8, 2015

Apple Fingered as the Worst Tax Avoider in the US

Fruity cargo cult Apple is one of the worst US tax avoiders, according to new statistics compiled by the Citizens for Tax Justice and the US Public Interest Research Group Education Fund.
The study 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. Jobs’ Mob holds $181.1 billion offshore, more than any other US company, and would owe an estimated $59.2 billion in US taxes if it tried to bring the money back to the United States from its three overseas tax havens, the study said.
The 500 largest American companies hold more than $2.1 trillion in accumulated profits offshore to avoid paying US taxes. If they all paid up, the country would give $620 billion to the US economy. Citizens for Tax Justice and the US Public Interest Research Group Education Fund used the companies’ own financial filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission to reach their conclusions. “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 said.
“All told these 358 companies maintain at least 7,622 tax haven subsidiaries.” Fortune 500 companies hold more than $2.1 trillion in accumulated profits offshore to avoid taxes, with just 30 of the firms accounting for $1.4 trillion of that amount, or 65 percent, the study found. Fifty-seven of the companies disclosed that they would expect to pay a combined $184.4 billion in additional US 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, the study calims. 
“Congress can and should take strong action to prevent corporations from using offshore tax havens, which in turn would restore basic fairness to the tax system, reduce the deficit and improve the functioning of markets,” the study said.