McDonald's, though, actually does pay relatively high taxes on U.S. profits. From 2008-2010, the fast food company paid an effective federal corporate income tax rate of 31.3 percent, one of the highest rates paid among the 280 companies included in the study. Its effective U.S. tax rate was ten percentage points higher than its foreign tax rate — again, one of the highest in the study.
So is the company's relatively high effective tax rate a crushing burden that threatens to drive an iconic American success story out of business? Not exactly. Over the three years in question, McDonald's enjoyed U.S. profits of nearly $8 billion. Profits have increased in recent years, and the company's stock price has soared 122 percent over the past five years: