> Much of Apple's cash is stashed in Ireland, where the corporate income tax rate is 12.5%. If it were 5% in the US, no doubt that money would return quickly.

> Much of Apple's cash is stashed in Ireland, where the corporate income tax rate is 12.5%. If it were 5% in the US, no doubt that money would return quickly. Apple did not pay 12.5% tax on the cash that is now in Ireland. They used a loophole known as the double Irish with a Dutch sandwich to avoid taxes in both Ireland and the Netherlands. Note that the US offers a foreign tax credit. Every dollar of taxes paid overseas is credited against US tax owed when the cash is repatriated. Thus, you wouldn't have to reduce US corporate tax to 5%, just to 12.5%. Any company that had actually paid 12.5% Irish tax would be able to repatriate its cash tax-free. Except that these companies have actually paid 0% tax, so this wouldn't work.