“Major U.S. multinationals are pushing the Trump administration to deepen the tax break it has already tentatively proposed on $2.6 trillion in corporate profits being held offshore, a key piece in Washington’s intricate tax reform puzzle,” Ginger Gibson reports for Reuters.
“As President Donald Trump tries to deliver on his campaign promise to overhaul the tax code, lobbyists for technology, drug and other manufacturers are working with officials behind closed doors, six lobbyists working with various industries told Reuters,” Gibson reports. “In line with tax cuts already embraced by Republicans in the House of Representatives, the lobbyists said they are telling the White House and Treasury Department that if companies are forced to bring home, or repatriate, foreign earnings, they want a sharply reduced tax rate. The lobbyists are making an aggressive case that cutting the tax rate on offshore profits to 10 percent from 35 percent, as the administration has indicated it may favor, is not enough.”
“Rather, the lobbyists said they want a lower, bifurcated rate of 3.5 percent on earnings already invested abroad in illiquid assets, such as factories, and 8.75 percent on cash and liquid assets,” Gibson reports. “Repatriation and comprehensive tax reform are important to the economy, Apple Inc (AAPL.O) CEO Tim Cook said earlier this month on CNBC. ‘The administration … they’re really getting this and want to bring this back and I hope that that comes to pass,’ he said. Apple held $239.6 billion of cash and securities offshore as of April 1.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Hopefully, the U.S. will get desperately needed repatriation and comprehensive tax reform sooner than later.
Under the current U.S. corporate tax system, it would be very expensive to repatriate that cash. Unfortunately, the tax code has not kept up with the digital age. The tax system handicaps American corporations in relation to our foreign competitors who don’t have such constraints on the free flow of capital… Apple has always believed in the simple, not the complex. You can see it in our products and the way we conduct ourselves. It is in this spirit that we recommend a dramatic simplification of the corporate tax code. This reform should be revenue neutral, eliminate all corporate tax expenditures, lower corporate income tax rates and implement a reasonable tax on foreign earnings that allows the free flow of capital back to the U.S. We make this recommendation with our eyes wide open, realizing this would likely increase Apple’s U.S. taxes. But we strongly believe such comprehensive reform would be fair to all taxpayers, would keep America globally competitive and would promote U.S. economic growth. – Apple CEO Tim Cook, May 21, 2013
SEE ALSO:
The fact that Apple has to issue bonds is a reminder of why urgent U.S. tax reform is needed – May 12, 2017
Apple borrows billions while sitting on massive overseas cash mountain – May 10, 2017
Why Apple is investing $148 billion in corporate debt – May 4, 2017
President Trump’s tax reform plan includes deep cuts in corporate taxes – April 26, 2017
Apple raises $10 billion in debt ahead of President Trump’s repatriation tax plans – February 3, 2017
After Apple’s blowout earnings, the Street looks toward ‘iPhone X’ and President Trump’s tax reforms – February 3, 2017
President-elect Trump’s corporate tax reform expected to have some positive impact on Apple EPS – January 14, 2017
Apple has now amassed nearly $80 billion in debt – September 12, 2016