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Large US firms stashed US$1.6t in tax havens: Oxfam

13 April 2017 08:56 (UTC +04:00)

The 50 largest US companies, including Apple, Microsoft and Wal-Mart, are parking about US$1.6 trillion in offshore tax havens to reduce their US tax burden, according to a study published Wednesday, The Business Times reported.

Poverty-fighting organization Oxfam America said the sum for 2015 was a US$200 billion increase over the prior year. The report cites the companies' own data.

Apple is at the top of the ranking with more than US$200 billion in offshore funds, followed closely by Pfizer laboratories (US$193.6 billion) and Microsoft's IT group (US$124 billion), the report said.

"Tax avoidance has become standard business practice across the globe. Corporate tax dodgers cheat America out of approximately US$135 billion in unpaid tax revenues every year," Oxfam senior advisor Robbie Silverman said.