News release: “Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, released a report today, Repatriating Offshore Funds: 2004 Tax Windfall for Select Multinationals, that found that the 2004 repatriation tax break that allowed U.S. companies to bring $312 billion in offshore earnings back to the United States at an extraordinarily low tax rate did not produce any of the promised benefits of new jobs or increased research expenditures to spur economic growth. The report looked at the top 15 repatriating companies and found that, instead of spurring jobs and economic stimulus, the tax break was instead associated with increased corporate stock buybacks and executive pay. The report also observed that the 5.25% tax rate created a competitive disadvantage for domestic businesses that chose not to engage in offshore operations or investments, and provided a windfall for multinationals in a few industries without benefiting the U.S. economy as a whole.”