More than $1.2tn (some estimates are double that figure) of US corporate earnings kept overseas. The US president-elect Trump has proposed slashing the tax rate to just 10 per cent on income held overseas, in order to bring money back to the US for investment domestically.
Under current law, companies bringing back foreign earnings to the US could potentially pay a tax liability of 35 per cent. Such holdings could be used to wipe out their corporate debt, fund investment in new technologies, cover an investor payout in a special dividend or fund acquisitions.
Apple is estimated to have $200 billion held overseas with Microsoft and General Electric both holding more than $100 billion in lower-tax jurisdictions outside the US.
