Much tension has been created in Washington, D.C. as the prospect of providing a bailout to the struggling cruise industry, which for the most part is domiciled offshore from the United States and pays next to nothing in taxes, plays out in the bailout package drama.
However, it now looks like, at least in this round of Congressional financial aid, these companies will not be receiving American assistance.
Two congressional sources confirmed to the Miami Herald that the bill currently does not allow cruise lines to access the money. The bill is expected to pass the House of Representatives on Friday or Saturday without significant changes from the version that passed the U.S. Senate 96-0 on Wednesday night, and President Donald Trump is expected to sign it into law, reported The Miami Herald.
"I do like the concept of, perhaps, coming in and registering here. Coming into the United States," POTUS declared during the White House Coronavirus Task Force Briefing yesterday. "It's very tough to make a loan to a company when they're based in a different country."
Carnival, the largest cruise company in terms of market share, is incorporated in Panama according to Panama’s registry and the other two major companies in the industry employ similar tactics. Norwegian is incorporated in Bermuda, and Royal Caribbean has been incorporated in Liberia since 1985.
Despite the fact that all three of their corporate headquarters are in Miami, annual filings show that these companies are part of an industry that paid an average tax rate of under 1%, which is well below the required 21% corporate tax rate in the United States. -OCCRP.org, reported Zero Hedge.
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