They'd have to pay taxes if they bring foreign cash back to the US to pay dividends. Google floated $1B in bonds earlier this year: http://www.bloomberg.com/ne

They'd have to pay taxes if they bring foreign cash back to the US to pay dividends. Google floated $1B in bonds earlier this year: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-20/google-said-to-plan-1-billion-bond-sale-to-refinance-borrowings.html http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-20/google-said-to-plan... Probably for the same reason.