Did US companies repatriate hundreds of billions of dollars after the Trump tax cuts?
By Tom Kertscher
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YES
American multinational companies brought hundreds of billions of dollars to the U.S. after a tax cut law signed by President Donald Trump.
In mid-2017, U.S. companies held about $3 trillion in profits overseas. That averted paying the U.S. corporate tax rate of 35%, one of the world's highest.
Trump signed a law that cut individual income tax rates essentially across the board and reduced the corporate rate to 21%, in December 2017.
Firms repatriated $777 billion in 2018 alone.
The repatriation claim was made by Trump in his nomination acceptance speech July 18, 2024, at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
Nonpartisan federal agencies have estimated the tax cut will add up to $2 trillion to the federal debt over 10 years.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
PolitiFact Paul Ryan: 35% corporate tax rate keeps $3 trillion in 'trapped cash' overseas from coming to U.S.
PolitiFact Pledging cuts, Donald Trump says at Wisconsin rally that U.S. has highest corporate tax rate
Federal Reserve System U.S. Corporations' Repatriation of Offshore Profits: Evidence from 2018
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Donald Trump's full speech at 2024 RNC: Assassination attempt, criminal trials & critiques of Biden
Tax Policy Center Briefing Book
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