Will US companies put overseas cash to work? Don’t bet on it
WASHINGTON — The Republican tax plan seems about to hand a bow-tied holiday gift to some of America’s richest multinational companies, from Apple and Microsoft to Google’s parent Alphabet: Tens of billions in tax breaks on profits they’ve parked overseas.
Republicans say they’re confident the companies will spend their windfall on new plants, equipment, jobs and higher pay — investments that would energize the economy and serve America’s workers.
But will they?
Remarks from some of the companies themselves — as well as economic history — suggest that the payoff for the nation will be a meagre one. The companies seem likely to direct their money mainly to shareholders through dividends and stock buybacks, just as large U.S. corporations have already been doing with the ample cash they have in hand.