For instance, they are carrying large off-balance-sheet liabilities and have secured loans with collateral that does not exist.

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The 35% federal corporate tax rate is now the highest in the industrial world, leading companies to locate their most profitable operations outside the U.S. Big multi-national corporations such as GE have secured enough special deductions and tax credits to zero out their U.S. tax liabilities on their existing operations even as the high marginal rate encourages them to expand overseas.

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