Holy Diver

What The Top U.S. Companies Pay In Taxes - Forbes.com

Exxon tries to limit the tax pain with the help of 20 wholly owned subsidiaries domiciled in the Bahamas, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands that (legally) shelter the cash flow from operations in the likes of Angola, Azerbaijan and Abu Dhabi. No wonder that of $15 billion in income taxes last year, Exxon paid none of it to Uncle Sam, and has tens of billions in earnings permanently reinvested overseas.

Likewise, GE has $84 billion in overseas income parked indefinitely outside the U.S.

Stokes

However, its not like they're getting away without paying taxes:

"ExxonMobil ( XOM - news - people ) paid more income taxes than any other U.S. company last year, some $15 billion, or 47% of pretax earnings."

I'm not sure where I am on this one, obviously we'd like that tax revenue coming to us, but if we close the loopholes and make them pay up to 35% here why wouldn't they just move to another country with a lower rate? Maybe that's a dumb question, but that's what I'd do if I owned the company and I could.

Holy Diver

I'm not sure either..

It says they paid income tax, but are not taxed for the billions they keep at a PO box in the Caymans?

PatriotsReign

Unfortunately, it's a catch-22 with US corporations. Tax them too much and they'll leave. I'm very glad we got foreign nations (Switzerland) to release information regarding very wealthy US citizens sheltering $$ in their banks last year so we could tax them!

This is far more difficult to solve.

__________________
"No one walking this earth knows what is truly righteous"

chicowalker

Why tax companies at all? Why not just take the shareholders for their dividends?

PatriotsReign

Ok...then what about "private" corporations with subsidiaries outside the US?

__________________
"No one walking this earth knows what is truly righteous"

Wolfpack

It's amusing how liberals gladly enact oppressive tax rates, and then whine when companies pursue avenues to avoid having to pay those taxes.

The left is surprised - and I mean honestly surprised - when companies (or individuals for that matter) adjust their behavior to try and minimize their tax burden.

IcyPatriot

Yup ... like DUH!!! It's very American to pay taxes.

Problem is this country was started by people who were tired of taxation without representation.

Oppressive tax rates with minimal representation is where we are at.

chicowalker

Private or public, doesn't matter. Same for subsidiaries outside the US -- if a US company "parks" money in a foreign sub, that means the shareholders aren't getting the cash. If the shareholders aren't getting the cash, they aren't going to be happy. (and you could tax shareholders on their share of the book earnings, as happens with S-corporations and other private companies -- that has some advantages but also has its negatives)