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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 Citizens for Tax Justice and the U.S. Public Interest
Research Group Education Fund used the companies' own financial
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission to reach
their conclusions.
Technology firm Apple <AAPL.O> was holding $181.1 billion
offshore, more than any other U.S. company, and would owe an
estimated $59.2 billion in U.S. taxes if it tried to bring the
money back to the United States from its three overseas tax
havens, the study said.
The conglomerate General Electric <GE.N> has booked $119 billion
offshore in 18 tax havens, software firm Microsoft <MSFT.O> is
holding $108.3 billion in five tax haven subsidiaries and drug
company Pfizer <PFE.N> is holding $74 billion in 151
subsidiaries, the study 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 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 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.
"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 concluded.
(Reporting by David Alexander; Editing by Eric Beech)
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