Nation's Economic Czar Moving His Company's Health Care Unit To China -- Absolutely Nothing To Do With The Bakken

Update

August 14, 2011: I don't know if it was a repeat or not, but I think it was: the segment on CBS' Sixty Minutes about US corporations moving overseas. I normally don't watch CBS or Sixty Minutes but I simply left the channel on when the PGA tournament ended. But I digress. A major piece of the segment was about the 600 "US" corporations that have moved much of their operations to Ireland for tax purpose. The US has the second highest corporate tax rate in the world, behind Japan, and the latter is considering lowering its tax rate.

The show ended noting that GE moved much of its operations and many of its companies to Ireland. The US corporate tax rate is 35%. By moving many of its operations and many of its companies to Ireland. By doing so, GE has lowered it corporate tax rate to .... drum roll ... 3.5%.  No, the decimal is not in the wrong spot: three point five percent.

Original Post

From the Boston Globe, not exactly a conservative newspaper:

General Electric Co.’s health care unit, the world’s biggest maker of medical imaging machines, is moving the headquarters of its 115-year-old X-ray business to Beijing.

Yes, General Electric is moving the headquarters of its health care unit, the world's biggest maker of medical imaging machings, from its present location in Wisconsin (a flyover state in the United States) to the capital of China.

No jobs will be cut, and only a "handful" of executives will actually move to China. I wonder if they will be allowed to use corporate jets to fly back to the states for business meetings and technology conferences?

Although only a "handful" of executives will actually move to China,

The X-ray business, whose financial results aren’t reported separately by GE, will hire 65 new engineers and support staff at a new Chengdu facility, the company said. GE has hired “a large number’’ of engineers who are in training, LeGrand said. GE, based in Fairfield, Conn., also has a global research center in Shanghai.

The CEO of GE is the president's economic advisor.

I cannot make this stuff up. And thank goodness for the internet. This was not reported on MSNBC this evening.

The Boston Globe did not note in this story that GE paid no federal income taxes in 2010.