Offshore Corporate Profits: The Only Thing ‘Trapped’ Is Tax Revenue

From the Center for American Progress (hat tip: AABA), in the context of news reports of trillions of dollars in U.S. overseas profits “trapped” overseas, just waiting to be invested in the struggling U.S. economy – if only it could somehow be “unlocked” (such as through a corporate tax amnesty.) Our quote of the day:

“There is something trapped on the balance sheets of U.S. multinationals. But it is not corporate profits—it is federal tax revenue.”

Quite so. It’s important to understand what’s going on here.  This U.S.-focused issue afflicts many other capital-exporting countries too.