Trump Move Lets U.S. Firms Shift Profits to Tax Havens

President Trump’s withdrawal from a global effort to curb offshore tax dodging has allowed U.S. companies to avoid at least $40 billion in income taxes since the beginning of 2025. Securities filings from nearly 500 companies show they attributed hundreds of billions of dollars in earnings to low- or no-tax jurisdictions such as Malta, Cyprus, Bermuda, Switzerland and the Cayman Islands, often routing profits through subsidiaries with no employees, offices or customers.

Companies across many sectors used those structures. American Express avoided $423 million through Jersey; PayPal nearly halved its 2025 tax bill via Singapore units; Stanley Black & Decker cut taxes by $27 million with Cyprus. Abbott routed global profits to a Malta subsidiary with no employees, reducing its tax bill by $336 million.

The move followed an executive order on Mr. Trump’s first day back in office withdrawing the United States from the OECD-led Pillar 2 effort to impose a 15 percent minimum tax, and a subsequent agreement exempted U.S.

United States

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