In 1993, the Bard unit was bought by Illinois-based Baxter. Then they moved the plant to Singapore after telling us they wouldn't,'' says Silva of Nashua. About 130 people lost their jobs. A million dollars earned in Ireland, for example, will be taxed at the US rate of 35 percent, minus the 10 percent tax the company must pay to the Irish government. But Baxter, or any other company, is not required to pay the US tax bill unless it moves the money home to give to shareholders or to reinvest in the business here.
Many companies take advantage of two other tax breaks designed to encourage exports.
For example, Zoom Telephonics Inc. of Mansfield said recently it lowered its tax rate by selling more products through its foreign sales corporation. Companies do this because they sometimes have foreign tax credits they cannot use unless they show more foreign income. A break for lawbreakers While the tax code causes pain for some US workers, it provides comfort to some companies that break the law. Last year, for example, three former executives of C.R. Bard Inc. were convicted of conspiring to conceal flaws in medical catheters manufactured in Billerica and Haverhill. Two deaths allegedly were linked to the catheters, and prosecutors said the faulty devices caused 21 emergency surgeries.