The multi-nationals didn't fare out as hoped.
Under the GOP tax plan that’s headed for votes in the House and Senate next week, earnings that companies hold offshore as cash and cash equivalents would be taxed at 15.5 percent. Income invested in less-liquid assets -- including plants and equipment -- would be taxed at 8 percent. Both taxes would be mandatory, not optional.
Multinationals “will scream” about the higher rate for cash, said Michael Mundaca, co-leader of the Ernst & Young Americas Tax Center and a former top Treasury tax official. Companies will immediately began looking for ways to get their cash into the lower, 8 percent bucket, he said, though “that’s also high.”
