Dozens of profitable U.S. companies haven't had a federal tax expense since Trump's rate cut

More than two dozen large U.S. companies have made a collective $77 billion in domestic profits in the past three years without any expectation of having to immediately pay federal taxes on their bounty. Indeed, they haven't expensed a single dollar for current federal taxes since Donald Trump pushed through a massive tax cut for corporations in the first year of his presidency, according to a new study. 

Many of those same companies had together paid billions of dollars in annual taxes prior to Trump's presidency.  For instance, Salesforce.com has made $4.2 billion in the past three years before taxes. But since 2018, the software company hasn't put any money aside to pay federal taxes, according to its filings with securities regulators. In fact, Salesforce booked $4 million in tax credits since 2018. In the three years prior to Trump's tax cut, Salesforce earned far less but expensed far more for taxes — $35 million on $500 million in profits.