Nothing is simple when it comes to the U.S. tax system. The reason why the law is so complicated is because it has to be applied fairly everywhere in the countr

Nothing is simple when it comes to the U.S. tax system. The reason why the law is so complicated is because it has to be applied fairly everywhere in the country. Eliminating corporate taxes for every U.S. company in the entire country just because a few very large companies have a ton of offshore cash doesn't make sense. And your assumption that it will be made up by increasing dividends seems misguided since the people that decide whether the company pays a dividend are the largest shareholders who want to minimize their own tax burden as much as possible. They'll simply figure out a different way to pay out those gains that don't involve a dividend (more buybacks, mergers/acquisitions, etc.). I agree that it would be good to figure out a way to bring some of that cash back to the U.S. even at a lower rate, but this is definitely requires a scalpel and not a hatchet to fix.