IBM Uses Dutch Tax Haven to Boost Profits as Sales Slide
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International Business Machines Corp. has reduced its tax rate to a two-decade low with help from a tax strategy that sends profits through a Dutch subsidiary.
The approach, which involves routing almost all sales in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and some of the Americas through the Netherlands unit, helped IBM as it gradually reduced its tax rate over 20 years at the same time pretax income quadrupled. Then last year, the rate slid to the lowest level since at least 1994, lifting earnings above analysts’ estimates.