Economic security

Large U.S. Firms Hold $2.1 Trillion Overseas to Dodge Taxes

The 500 largest U.S. companies would owe an estimated $620 billion in U.S. taxes were it not for the more than $2.1 trillion in offshore cash that most of the firms hold in foreign tax havens, according to a report released this week.

The study, by Citizens for Tax Justice and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund, found that almost 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, Ireland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

To obtain these figures, the study used the companies’ own financial filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.