The treatment of foreign patent profits is important to Apple because shifting those profits overseas was a cornerstone of its tax practices for decades. One creates a minimum tax on foreign patent income that is expected to come to about 13 per cent, said Gavin Ekins, a research economist with the Tax Foundation. Companies now have to pay a one-time 15.5 per cent tax on their overseas cash to bring it back. At 15.5 per cent, Apple would owe about $39.1 billion on its $252.3 billion in overseas cash. “The (foreign cash) overhang for Apple is just an enormous issue,” Kleinbard said.

Source: The Express Tribune December 22, 2017 11:37 UTC