John Chambers Says He Will Not Make Acquisitions or Hire U.S. Workers Until the Tax Code is Changed

” $CSCO  has $46 billion in cash, but CEO John Chambers says he is no longer willing to use it to acquire U.S. companies.

That’s because 80 percent of that cash is stored in overseas accounts and if Cisco spends it in the U.S., the company will have to fork over 35 percent in taxes.

For years, he has been trying to get the U.S. to change that tax rule. He’s said before that this prevents him from hiring more U.S. workers.

But now he’s said he’s also stopped shopping for acquisition targets in the U.S., too.

That’s a blow, as Cisco has historically been a company that acquires like crazy.

Cisco is not the only company hording cash overseas to avoid taxes. U.S. companies have about $1.7 trillion offshore. For instance, Microsoft‘s keeps about 87 percent of its $66.6 billion stored outside the U.S.; Oracle, 80 percent of its $31.6 billion; and Apple about 68 percent of its $121.3 billion, reports CNBC’s Jon Fortt.….”

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