Microsoft made over half its 2017 revenue in the U.S., and it has 57 percent of its long-lived assets in our country. Yet for 2016 it claimed a loss in the U.S. and a $20 billion profit in other countries. Microsoft goes on to tell its shareholders, "As of June 30, 2017, $127.9 billion was held by our foreign subsidiaries and would be subject to material repatriation tax effects."
Caterpillar , the heavy equipment company, has 56 percent of its property, plants and equipment in the U.S., along with over 40 percent of its sales and 43 percent of its employees. But in 2016 it claimed a loss of over $2 billion in the U.S. and a profit of over $2 billion overseas. It took tax credits at both the federal and state levels.
Exxon has over half of its natural gas facilities, half its developed acreage, the great majority of its productive and development wells, and half its retail sites in the U.S. but declared $5.8 billion in U.S. losses along with $13.8 billion in foreign profits in 2016. Exxon claimed a credit on its U.S. income tax.
Caterpillar , the heavy equipment company, has 56 percent of its property, plants and equipment in the U.S., along with over 40 percent of its sales and 43 percent of its employees. But in 2016 it claimed a loss of over $2 billion in the U.S. and a profit of over $2 billion overseas. It took tax credits at both the federal and state levels.
Exxon has over half of its natural gas facilities, half its developed acreage, the great majority of its productive and development wells, and half its retail sites in the U.S. but declared $5.8 billion in U.S. losses along with $13.8 billion in foreign profits in 2016. Exxon claimed a credit on its U.S. income tax.
Pfizer had half of its sales in the U.S. in 2016, yet claimed an $8.5 billion loss in the U.S. along with nearly $17 billion in foreign profits. Pfizer paid just 4 percent of its total income on U.S. taxes in 2016, and was one of the nine pharmaceutical companies among the top 30 Fortune 500 firms in offshore tax hoarding.
Dow Chemical had 63 percent of its assets and 35 percent of its sales in the U.S. in 2016, but declared almost 90 percent of its income in other countries.
Dow Chemical had 63 percent of its assets and 35 percent of its sales in the U.S. in 2016, but declared almost 90 percent of its income in other countries.
Abbott reported 40 percent of its revenues in the U.S., but just 7 percent of its profits.
Amgen reported 78 percent of its revenues in the U.S., but just 38 percent of its profits.
S&P 500 companies—including Apple, Microsoft and Pfizer—have stashed away $2.3 trillion, which represents a loss to America of over $800 billion in tax revenue.
Apple itself has moved about two-thirds of its worldwide profits to Ireland, waiting perhaps, for a minimal-tax repatriation deal.
Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple and Facebook are together making well over $100 billion a year in pre-tax profits, yet demanded state subsidies to build new data centers. Apple is getting over $200 million from Iowa; Amazon took tens of millions from Illinois and Kentucky; iPhone maker Foxconn negotiated for tax credits from Wisconsin that could amount to $500,000 per job.
The very worst may be Boeing, with more state subsidies than any other company, and which took billions from the state of Washington and then moved to Illinois, where it has become the state's biggest tax avoider.
Then there's GE in Massachusetts; Exxon in Texas; Disney's luxury hotel in California; Chiquita playing off Ohio and North Carolina; Panasonic and Pearson doing the same in New Jersey; Aetna getting $34 million from New York for just 250 jobs; economic incentives from Indiana to keep Carrier from moving to Mexico; and the state of Michigan offering tax breaks to anyone who brings in jobs.
The very worst may be Boeing, with more state subsidies than any other company, and which took billions from the state of Washington and then moved to Illinois, where it has become the state's biggest tax avoider.
Then there's GE in Massachusetts; Exxon in Texas; Disney's luxury hotel in California; Chiquita playing off Ohio and North Carolina; Panasonic and Pearson doing the same in New Jersey; Aetna getting $34 million from New York for just 250 jobs; economic incentives from Indiana to keep Carrier from moving to Mexico; and the state of Michigan offering tax breaks to anyone who brings in jobs.
Forbes calls stock buybacks "fool's gold," because they temporarily make a business look good by boosting stock prices, while at the same time resulting in cutbacks in hiring and R&D. Buybacks were once illegal. But from 2003 to 2012, S&P companies spent over 90 percent of their profits on buybacks and dividends. In 2016, 119 companies in the S&P 500 spent more on buybacks than they generated in earnings. In the future, the threat of corporate tax cuts is likely to accelerate the buyback frenzy. A Goldman Sachs analyst predicted that S&P 500 companies will have spent $780 billion on buybacks by the end of 2017.
https://www.alternet.org/economy/3-greedy-ways-corporations-are-cheating-america
No comments:
Post a Comment