Eight of the largest tech companies in the U.S. reportedly made $69 billion in offshore profits last year, according to Bloomberg.
Microsoft, Apple and Google, along with five other tech companies, enjoy a total of one-fifth of the $2.1 trillion total profit held by U.S. companies overseas, according to Bloomberg in an analysis of 304 company filings.
Additionally, the overseas profits of Microsoft, Apple and Google grew substantially in 2014—by over 20%, according to the analysis.
The report states that it’s easier for tech companies to keep money overseas than other industries, such as in finance or manufacturing, because profits come from intellectual property.
But there have been in rumblings in D.C. to apply a mandatory 14% tax on such profits, along with a 19% minimum tax on overseas earnings, according to Bloomberg. President Barack Obama’s plan, however, hasn’t passed Congress.
Joseph Kennedy, a senior fellow at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, told Bloomberg:
It just makes no sense to repatriate, pay a substantial tax on it. Computing and IT companies especially have a lot of flexibility in where they declare their profits.
The one-time tax could add an estimated $268 billion over six years.