US corporations save billions of dollars in taxes through offshore zones
According to a large-scale study conducted by the American non-profit organization Citizens for Tax Justice (Citizens for Tax Justice), Fortune 500 companies , including Apple, Google, Microsoft and other giants, underestimate their own taxable base each year, accumulating money on accounts in zones considered “tax haven” or simply offshore.
According to the text: in total, companies from the Fortune 500 have accumulated more than $ 2.1 trillion in cash, which allowed them to avoid paying more than $ 620 billion if these funds returned to the US (that is, they were repatriated, as required by law).
The authors of the study, including Robert McIntyre, Richard Phillips and Phineas Baksandall write that "the rules of the game for international corporations with American registration are very different from the rules for small and medium businesses, and even more so for individuals, in terms of tax realities" .
The use of legal offshore zones for a long time has been a reason for quite fierce discussion and controversy, not only in the west, but, as we know, in Russia. However, the CTJ study reveals the unprecedented scale of "corporate savings".
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So, Apple, the idol company, which many are oriented not only philosophically, but also in the purely pragmatic sense of doing business and approaches to daily activities, has the “honor” to keep on an offshore account the largest amount of cash compared to any other company - $ 181.1 billion. Researchers add that if this money were returned (or, to put it in fiscal terms, “repatriated”) in the US, the one-time tax would be $ 59.2 billion. Microsoft has $ 108.3 billion offshore, Google has $ 47.4 billion.
Prior to the publication of this study, Apple paid 2.3% from its own "offshore profits" - that is, those funds that accumulate on accounts in countries with a sparing or absent tax regime. Although back in 2012, the New York Times conducted an investigation and detailed the scheme for drawing conclusions to offshore through subsidiaries in Ireland and the Netherlands, after which the money settled in the Caribbean countries.
To be clear: the standard level of corporate income tax in the United States is 35%. NYT in 2012 calculated the total tax rate that Apple pays in the US for profit, and it turned out that the company's effective (real) rate is only 9.8%. The difference between how it should be and how it really is, is achieved just using the “tax haven”.
Naturally, Apple is not the only such company, only the most visible. A recent analysis of Capital IQ shows that in the second quarter of 2014, 20 companies from the S & P 500 index (the most conservative blue chip index whose shares circulate on the NYSE and NASDAQ) had an effective tax rate of 0%, that is, the richest American corporations did not pay any funds in the form of income tax.
Representatives from Apple, Microsoft and Google declined to comment, as reported Motherboard. It is not surprising.
According to the text: in total, companies from the Fortune 500 have accumulated more than $ 2.1 trillion in cash, which allowed them to avoid paying more than $ 620 billion if these funds returned to the US (that is, they were repatriated, as required by law).
The authors of the study, including Robert McIntyre, Richard Phillips and Phineas Baksandall write that "the rules of the game for international corporations with American registration are very different from the rules for small and medium businesses, and even more so for individuals, in terms of tax realities" .
The use of legal offshore zones for a long time has been a reason for quite fierce discussion and controversy, not only in the west, but, as we know, in Russia. However, the CTJ study reveals the unprecedented scale of "corporate savings".
')
So, Apple, the idol company, which many are oriented not only philosophically, but also in the purely pragmatic sense of doing business and approaches to daily activities, has the “honor” to keep on an offshore account the largest amount of cash compared to any other company - $ 181.1 billion. Researchers add that if this money were returned (or, to put it in fiscal terms, “repatriated”) in the US, the one-time tax would be $ 59.2 billion. Microsoft has $ 108.3 billion offshore, Google has $ 47.4 billion.
Prior to the publication of this study, Apple paid 2.3% from its own "offshore profits" - that is, those funds that accumulate on accounts in countries with a sparing or absent tax regime. Although back in 2012, the New York Times conducted an investigation and detailed the scheme for drawing conclusions to offshore through subsidiaries in Ireland and the Netherlands, after which the money settled in the Caribbean countries.
To be clear: the standard level of corporate income tax in the United States is 35%. NYT in 2012 calculated the total tax rate that Apple pays in the US for profit, and it turned out that the company's effective (real) rate is only 9.8%. The difference between how it should be and how it really is, is achieved just using the “tax haven”.
Naturally, Apple is not the only such company, only the most visible. A recent analysis of Capital IQ shows that in the second quarter of 2014, 20 companies from the S & P 500 index (the most conservative blue chip index whose shares circulate on the NYSE and NASDAQ) had an effective tax rate of 0%, that is, the richest American corporations did not pay any funds in the form of income tax.
Representatives from Apple, Microsoft and Google declined to comment, as reported Motherboard. It is not surprising.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/295140/
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