US firms hold US$2.1t in profits offshore to avoid taxes: Study

Washington

THE 500 largest American companies hold more than US$2.1 trillion in accumulated profits offshore to avoid US taxes and would collectively owe an estimated US$620 billion in US taxes if they repatriated the funds, according to a study released on Tuesday.

The study, by two left-leaning non-profit groups, found that nearly three-quarters of the firms on the Fortune 500 list of biggest American companies by gross revenue operate tax haven subsidiaries in countries such as Bermuda, Irela…