US tax incentive sparked $150bn flight of funds from Irish Microsoft arm

Microsoft Research Ireland’s dividends to its parent multiplied after Donald Trump announced a one-time low tax window to lure corporate capital home

Microsoft Ireland, Leopardstown, Dublin: The spike in payouts came after former US president Donald Trump pledged that companies would repatriate at least $4 trillion to the US as a result of the new tax laws being introduced

Microsoft has shifted more than $150 billion back to the US through one of its many Irish subsidiaries, after new laws were introduced to encourage US firms to repatriate overseas finances.

New accounts for Microsoft Ireland Research, which cover the 12-month period to the end of June 2020, show it paid a $13.6 billion dividend to its parent company in the US.

Further details released in the filings showed that, subsequent to year-end, Microsoft Ireland ...