I don't quite understand what you're getting at here. There are several kinds of taxes. Some are due at the time of something is sold, typically called VAT. Ar

I don't quite understand what you're getting at here. There are several kinds of taxes. Some are due at the time of something is sold, typically called VAT. Are you suggesting that Apple pays 4% tax in Ireland instead of paying the usual US VAT? I think not. Some taxes are due later, when a company decides to have a profit. That can be the same year, but it doesn't have to be. It's entirely legal to save some or all of this year's income to spend on a planned investment in three years' time. If you want to build a new factory, or acquire some startups, you can put aside money from this years's income, and that happens with before-tax money. (The general principle is that if the owners are willing to defer their dividends, then the taxman defers the tax.) I know Apple has been doing that, keeping enormous sum of money in case it wants to acquire companies. Are you suggesting that US companies shouldn't be permitted to save money for future investments? Or are you suggesting that foreign daughters of US holding companies shouldn't be permitted to save money for future investments? Or that the sums they save should have some sort of limit, e.g. "no more than x months' turnover"?