March 11, 2013

Capital Flight: Micro and Macro

First the Micro, another tale of someone with lots of money actually wanting to pay less of it in taxes.

Paulson Said to Explore Puerto Rico as Home With Low Tax

John Paulson, a lifelong New Yorker, is exploring a move to Puerto Rico, where a new law would eliminate taxes on gains from the $9.5 billion he has invested in his own hedge funds, according to four people who have spoken to him about a possible relocation.


But capital flight is not just for meat & bone people, it's also for corporate persons. And their tax-avoidance actions tends to keep a lot more money out-of-country than the actions of mere individuals, even billionaires.

GE, Pfizer, Microsoft, Apple And Other Major US Corporations Are Parking More Cash Abroad To Avoid Paying Taxes

Some of the largest companies in the U.S. greatly boosted their tax-avoiding cash stockpiles abroad last year, according to recent surveys of company filings from the Securities and Exchange Commission


For example, the Jedi master of avoiding U.S. taxation, General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), increased its tax-free cash accumulation to $108 billion, up from an estimated $94 billion in 2010. Microsoft Corporation (Nasdaq:MSFT) increased its stockpile to $61 billion, up 36 percent from 2011 and up from $30 billion in 2010. Apple Inc. (Nasdaq:AAPL) raised its ante to $40 billion, up 73 percent from 2011.
 
The obvious: All of the above are doing this to avoid paying what they perceive as overly-high tax rates. They are parking their asses and assets in jurisdictions that offer more competitive rates.