US Overseas Cash Hoard Grows $100Bln in 2016 as Companies Dodge High Taxes

The stockpile of cash held by US companies seeking to dodge one of the industrial world’s highest corporate tax rates grew by $100 billion in 2016 to $1.3 trillion, according to a report by Moody’s Investors Service on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — When cash balances in the United States are included, amount held by non-financial US companies totaled $1.84 trillion at the end of 2016, up 9.2 percent from $1.68 trillion at the end of 2015, the report revealed.

"This amount reflects the negative tax consequences of permanently repatriating money to the United States," a press release explaining the report stated.

The top US corporate tax rate of 35 percent is frequently cited by businesses and lawmakers as a primary reason for the buildup of corporate cash overseas — a key motive behind Trump administration efforts to reform the nation’s tax code.

Moody’s named the top five cash hoarders — all from the technology sector — as Apple, Microsoft, Google, Cisco and Oracle.

Apple led the group with a record high cash balance of $246.1 billion in US and overseas accounts.