TAX LAWS

Cisco Presses for Tax Cuts

On international earnings brought back to U.S.

Cisco Systems Inc., the largest maker of networking equipment, has succeeded in evading $7 billion in income taxes since 2005 by filing its worldwide profits at a tiny subsidiary in Switzerland that employs only 100 people. Now the company is asking Congress to waive almost all federal taxes when multinationals corporations bring their overseas earnings back to the U.S. Cisco's CEO says the the deal would inspire domestic investors and be a catalyst for job creation. The company's savvy tax evading techniques comply with global tax laws, but some experts think they're "gaming" the system. Other companies including Google, Apple, and Pfizer are also in favor of the tax holiday, which would allow international profits to return to the U.S. at a discounted 5.25 percent rate.