Dozens of Illinois Fortune 500 companies in 2014 had more than $135 billion in offshore tax havens, according to a new report published by Citizens for Tax Justice and the Illinois PIRG Education Fund.
The report, "Offshore Shell Games 2015," found 72 percent of Fortune 500 companies, including 29 in Illinois, maintained tax haven subsidiaries in 2014.
Exploiting tax loopholes and amassing cash overseas through foreign subsidiaries is a common practice among U.S. multinational corporations, but it comes at a major price for the states in which these companies are headquartered, especially in Illinois, which has 34 Fortune 500 companies -- the fourth-most in the nation behind New York, Texas, and California.
Each year, Illinois loses $1.2 billion in corporate income tax revenue, according to Illinois PIRG. Opponents and business advocates argue strenuously that closing tax loopholes harms job creators and encourages big business to relocate to other states.
"When corporations dodge their taxes, the public ends up paying," said Abe Scarr of Illinois PIRG. "The American multinationals that take advantage of tax havens use Illinois roads, benefit from our education system and large consumer market, and enjoy the security we have here, but are ultimately taking a free ride at the expense of other taxpayers."
U.S. Fortune 500 companies reported nearly $2 trillion in offshore tax havens, with 30 firms accounting for 65 percent of that amount, or $1.35 trillion. Three companies in Illinois, whose offshore profits combined for a total of $64 billion, are among these 30 corporations: Abbott Laboratories, AbbVie and Caterpillar.
This list shows which Fortune 500 companies in Illinois stockpile the most money offshore, though nine of them did not report the amount being held in foreign subsidiaries: Allstate, Discover Financial Services, Exelon, Old Republic International, Packaging Corp. of America, R.R. Donnelley & Sons, Sears Holdings, United Stationers and Walgreens.
ConAgra Foods, which recently announced it's relocating its headquarters to Chicago, had $660 million held by a subsidiary in the Netherlands.
You can find the full report embedded on the page.