Obama met the chief executives of Xerox, Micron Technology, Qualcomm, IBM and EMC, which have a combined US$114 billion in accumulated offshore profits. Photo / AP
Eight of the biggest United States technology companies added a combined US$69 billion ($91.35 billion) to their stockpiled overseas profits over the past year, even as some corporations in other industries felt pressure to bring cash back home.
Microsoft, Apple, Google and five other tech firms now account for more
than a fifth of the US$2.10 trillion in profits that US companies are holding overseas, according to a Bloomberg News review of the securities filings of 304 corporations.
The total amount held outside the US by the companies was up 8 per cent from the previous year, though 58 companies reported smaller stockpiles.
The money pileup, reflecting companies' incentives to park profits in low-tax countries, has drawn the attention of President Barack Obama and US lawmakers.
That effort is stalled in Washington, and there are few signs that tech companies will bring the profits back to the US until Congress gives them an incentive or a mandate.
