Major US companies ‘hold $2.1tn offshore’

The 500 largest US companies hold more than $2.1trn (€1.87trn) in accumulated profits offshore to avoid US taxes and would collectively owe an estimated $620bn in US taxes if they repatriated the funds, according to a study released yesterday.

The study, by two left-leaning non-profit groups, found nearly three quarters of the firms on the Fortune 500 list of biggest US companies by gross revenue operate tax haven subsidiaries in countries such as Bermuda, Ireland, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands.

The Citizens for Tax Justice and the US Public Interest Research Group Education Fund used the companies’ own financial filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission to reach their conclusions.