--- [ IMPORTANT READS ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=9) # Who are California Techies Stashing Billions in Offshore Accounts, Not Paying Taxes? EDITOR’S PICK--Airbnb, star of the “sharing economy,” is “[committed](http://blog.airbnb.com/our-commitment-to-communities-around-the-world/) to strengthening the neighborhoods and cities we serve.” Uber is “[passionate](https://www.uber.com/our-story/) about the cities we call home.” Google [wants](https://www.google.com/intl/en/giving/index.html) “a better world, faster.” Facebook has its own “social good” [team](http://mashable.com/2015/09/27/facebook-social-good-team/#y2FMl2_3.iq3). But as much as Silicon Valley powerhouses love to tout their efforts to give back to their communities and make the world a better place, they also love to hide their money in tax havens. The Panama Papers [scandal](https://panamapapers.icij.org/) has [shaken](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/04/15/panama-papers-scandal-claims-spanish-minister/83071998/) the world by exposing a secretive world of offshore shell companies, which can “facilitate bribery, arms deals, tax evasion, financial fraud and drug trafficking.” But the use of shell companies to avoid taxes is a tried-and-true method of corporate governance for many of America’s biggest companies. A new report by Oxfam [tallied](https://www.oxfam.org/en/pressroom/pressreleases/2016-04-14/fifty-biggest-global-us-companies-stash-13-trillion-offshore) the offshore money of 50 top public U.S. companies, and the winner was Silicon Valley’s own Apple, with $181 billion held offshore. The company would owe $59.2 billion in taxes if the profits weren’t held offshore, according to a [report](http://ctj.org/pdf/offshoreshell2015.pdf) by Citizens for Tax Justice. As for Airbnb, the first tenet of its “Community Compact” states: “We are committed to treating every city personally and helping ensure our community pays its fair share of hotel and tourist taxes.” But as Bloomberg [reports](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-06/the-sharing-economy-doesn-t-share-the-wealth), Airbnb manages its finances “via units in Ireland and tax havens like Jersey in the Channel Islands” that will allow it to avoid the grasp of the Internal Revenue Service. Uber, meanwhile, uses a Netherlands entity headquartered in Bermuda to shield its non-U.S. income from U.S. taxes, according to [Fortune](http://fortune.com/2015/10/22/uber-tax-shell/). Here’s Bloomberg’s David Kocieniewski: “This is the challenge that Airbnb, like Uber and other companies in the so-called sharing economy, poses for the world’s treasuries. In the five years since these businesses began their spiraling growth, some cities and states around the globe have fought hard to make them play by the same rules as traditional hotels or taxis and collect various local taxes – often as not, they’ve lost.” Google – as in “don’t be evil” or [“do the right thing”](http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/10/02/as-google-becomes-alphabet-dont-be-evil-vanishes/) – had mastered the strategy long before. Bloomberg’s Jesse Drucker [reported](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2010-10-21/google-2-4-rate-shows-how-60-billion-u-s-revenue-lost-to-tax-loopholes) in 2010 that Google saved $3 billion in taxes with complicated income-shuffling arrangements known as the “Double Irish” and the “Dutch Sandwich.” The strategy sparked outrage, but never mind that – Google [saved](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-19/google-lowered-taxes-by-2-4-billion-using-european-subsidiaries) another $2.4 billion in 2014 with a Bermuda shell company. Facebook [did it](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/dec/05/facebook-tax-cayman), too. Those tech companies [may have to disclose](http://mashable.com/2016/04/12/google-facebook-amazon-tax-haven-european-commission/#KH37hHQFemqw) more about their income-juggling act under new European legislation sparked by the Panama Papers. But while Panama faces a lot of flack, Drucker [reminds](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-05/panama-has-company-as-bank-secrecy-holdout-as-u-s-offers-haven) us that the U.S. has something in common with the Central American nation: “Neither has agreed to new international standards to make it harder for tax evaders and money launderers to hide their money.” In fact, he [reported](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-27/the-world-s-favorite-new-tax-haven-is-the-united-states), the U.S. is “becoming the go-to place to stash foreign wealth,” with shell companies in states such as Nevada, Wyoming and South Dakota. So it’s not all about offshore. The New York Times [found](http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/29/business/apples-tax-strategy-aims-at-low-tax-states-and-nations.html) that Cupertino-based Apple avoided millions of dollars in taxes in California and other states by routing profits through Nevada, where the corporate tax rate is zero. And the amazing thing is that, unlike the secrets revealed by the Panama Papers leak, all of these tech company shenanigans have been well documented for years and are easily findable on, well, Google. *(Will Evans is a reporter of [Reveal News](http://revealnews.org) … where this piece was first posted.)* *-cw* Written by Will Evans on April 21 2016. ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Apr-2016/033r.png) [](https://www.addtoany.com/share) [Comments](#disqus_thread) EDITOR’S PICK--Airbnb, star of the “sharing economy,” is “[committed](http://blog.airbnb.com/our-commitment-to-communities-around-the-world/) to strengthening the neighborhoods and cities we serve.” Uber is “[passionate](https://www.uber.com/our-story/) about the cities we call home.” Google [wants](https://www.google.com/intl/en/giving/index.html) “a better world, faster.” Facebook has its own “social good” [team](http://mashable.com/2015/09/27/facebook-social-good-team/#y2FMl2_3.iq3). But as much as Silicon Valley powerhouses love to tout their efforts to give back to their communities and make the world a better place, they also love to hide their money in tax havens. The Panama Papers [scandal](https://panamapapers.icij.org/) has [shaken](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/04/15/panama-papers-scandal-claims-spanish-minister/83071998/) the world by exposing a secretive world of offshore shell companies, which can “facilitate bribery, arms deals, tax evasion, financial fraud and drug trafficking.” But the use of shell companies to avoid taxes is a tried-and-true method of corporate governance for many of America’s biggest companies. A new report by Oxfam [tallied](https://www.oxfam.org/en/pressroom/pressreleases/2016-04-14/fifty-biggest-global-us-companies-stash-13-trillion-offshore) the offshore money of 50 top public U.S. companies, and the winner was Silicon Valley’s own Apple, with $181 billion held offshore. The company would owe $59.2 billion in taxes if the profits weren’t held offshore, according to a [report](http://ctj.org/pdf/offshoreshell2015.pdf) by Citizens for Tax Justice. As for Airbnb, the first tenet of its “Community Compact” states: “We are committed to treating every city personally and helping ensure our community pays its fair share of hotel and tourist taxes.” But as Bloomberg [reports](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-06/the-sharing-economy-doesn-t-share-the-wealth), Airbnb manages its finances “via units in Ireland and tax havens like Jersey in the Channel Islands” that will allow it to avoid the grasp of the Internal Revenue Service. Uber, meanwhile, uses a Netherlands entity headquartered in Bermuda to shield its non-U.S. income from U.S. taxes, according to [Fortune](http://fortune.com/2015/10/22/uber-tax-shell/). Here’s Bloomberg’s David Kocieniewski: “This is the challenge that Airbnb, like Uber and other companies in the so-called sharing economy, poses for the world’s treasuries. In the five years since these businesses began their spiraling growth, some cities and states around the globe have fought hard to make them play by the same rules as traditional hotels or taxis and collect various local taxes – often as not, they’ve lost.” Google – as in “don’t be evil” or [“do the right thing”](http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/10/02/as-google-becomes-alphabet-dont-be-evil-vanishes/) – had mastered the strategy long before. Bloomberg’s Jesse Drucker [reported](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2010-10-21/google-2-4-rate-shows-how-60-billion-u-s-revenue-lost-to-tax-loopholes) in 2010 that Google saved $3 billion in taxes with complicated income-shuffling arrangements known as the “Double Irish” and the “Dutch Sandwich.” The strategy sparked outrage, but never mind that – Google [saved](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-19/google-lowered-taxes-by-2-4-billion-using-european-subsidiaries) another $2.4 billion in 2014 with a Bermuda shell company. Facebook [did it](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/dec/05/facebook-tax-cayman), too. Those tech companies [may have to disclose](http://mashable.com/2016/04/12/google-facebook-amazon-tax-haven-european-commission/#KH37hHQFemqw) more about their income-juggling act under new European legislation sparked by the Panama Papers. But while Panama faces a lot of flack, Drucker [reminds](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-05/panama-has-company-as-bank-secrecy-holdout-as-u-s-offers-haven) us that the U.S. has something in common with the Central American nation: “Neither has agreed to new international standards to make it harder for tax evaders and money launderers to hide their money.” In fact, he [reported](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-27/the-world-s-favorite-new-tax-haven-is-the-united-states), the U.S. is “becoming the go-to place to stash foreign wealth,” with shell companies in states such as Nevada, Wyoming and South Dakota. So it’s not all about offshore. The New York Times [found](http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/29/business/apples-tax-strategy-aims-at-low-tax-states-and-nations.html) that Cupertino-based Apple avoided millions of dollars in taxes in California and other states by routing profits through Nevada, where the corporate tax rate is zero. And the amazing thing is that, unlike the secrets revealed by the Panama Papers leak, all of these tech company shenanigans have been well documented for years and are easily findable on, well, Google. *(Will Evans is a reporter of [Reveal News](http://revealnews.org) … where this piece was first posted.)* *-cw* [![](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/ME%20DENTAL%20SPA/me%20dental%202026%20final.jpg)](http://medentalspa.com/) ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/banners/signup-for-cw.png) ## Get The News In Your Email Inbox Mondays & Thursdays Name [ ![LA DWP #2 (Pay Your Bill Help)](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/LADWP/dwp%20level%20pay%205-7-25.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/82 "LA DWP #2 (Pay Your Bill Help)") [ ![Home - HHR Rent is too High - SB-2](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/HHR/AHF-rent-too-high.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/104 "Home - HHR Rent is too High - SB-2") --- ## Featured CityWatch Stories [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/fd/064h-fdb0b507.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=29355:remembering-ken-draper-citywatch-and-transparency-are-his-legacy&catid=12) ### [Remembering Ken Draper: CityWatch and Transparency Are his Legacy](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=29355:remembering-ken-draper-citywatch-and-transparency-are-his-legacy&catid=12) LA WATCHDOG - Ken Draper, the editor and publisher of CityWatch for more than 20 years, passed away on August 8, 2022… [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/0f/061a-0f1ada2f.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33148:brace-yourself-for-a-worse-housing-crisis&catid=398) ### [Brace Yourself For A Worse Housing Crisis](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33148:brace-yourself-for-a-worse-housing-crisis&catid=398) PLANNING WATCH - The California State Legislature will soon vote on the following draft legislation. Please carefully… [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/ab/063e-ab3b1ba1.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33174:nithya-raman-loses-the-homelessness-gavel-her-record-explains-why&catid=396) ### [Nithya Raman Loses the Homelessness Gavel — Her Record Explains Why](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33174:nithya-raman-loses-the-homelessness-gavel-her-record-explains-why&catid=396) THE BOTTOM LINE - Raman wants Los Angeles voters to promote her to mayor. Before handing her the keys to City Hall, v… [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/45/063l-45ec6c05.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33179:californias-hidden-debt-bomb&catid=385) ### [California’s Hidden Debt Bomb](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33179:californias-hidden-debt-bomb&catid=385) THINK ABOUT IT - Let me tell you how it will be There's one for you, nineteen for me Cause I'm the taxman – The Beat… [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/f4/063h-f4e88a89.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33172:the-john-erickson-interview-a-practical-progressive-for-ca-24&catid=327) ### [The John Erickson Interview: A Practical Progressive for District 24](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33172:the-john-erickson-interview-a-practical-progressive-for-ca-24&catid=327) WESTSIDE - West Hollywood Councilman John Erickson and I finally had an extensive phone conversation Thursday morning o… --- ## [ IMPORTANT READS ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=9) [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Aug-2026/061q.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33155:how-electrical-hazards-put-workers-at-risk&catid=9)### [How Electrical Hazards Put Workers at Risk](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33155:how-electrical-hazards-put-workers-at-risk&catid=9) [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/stories/July-2026/058i.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33091:metro-doesnt-have-a-transit-problem-it-has-a-leadership-problem&catid=9)### [Metro Doesn't Have a Transit Problem—It Has a Leadership Problem](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33091:metro-doesnt-have-a-transit-problem-it-has-a-leadership-problem&catid=9) [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/stories/July-2026/060o.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33139:wrongful-death-claims-after-a-serious-accident-and-what-families-need-to-know&catid=9)### [Wrongful Death Claims After a Serious Accident and What Families Need to Know](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33139:wrongful-death-claims-after-a-serious-accident-and-what-families-need-to-know&catid=9) [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/stories/July-2026/059s.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33123:the-real-downsides-of-heat-pump-water-heaters-nobody-mentions&catid=9)### [The Real Downsides of Heat Pump Water Heaters Nobody Mentions](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33123:the-real-downsides-of-heat-pump-water-heaters-nobody-mentions&catid=9) [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/stories/July-2026/059r.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33121:why-more-students-are-working-while-studying-and-what-it-means-for-their-education&catid=9)### [Why More Students Are Working While Studying and What It Means for Their Education](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33121:why-more-students-are-working-while-studying-and-what-it-means-for-their-education&catid=9)