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Politics : The Donkey's Inn -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Karen Lawrence who wrote (5362)	11/18/2002 4:02:56 PM
From: Karen Lawrence	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 15516

CalPERS is against offshore havens for some of the companies in which it invests CalPERS Votes Against Offshore HQs By GARY GENTILE 11/18/2002 15:36:44 EST GLENDALE, Calif. (AP) - California's huge pension fund system voted Monday to urge three big corporations it invests in to abandon their offshore headquarters and return to the United States. The California Public Employees' Retirement System and shareholders will make the request of Tyco International, Ingersoll-Rand and McDermott International. The shareholder votes are scheduled for annual meetings early next year. They would not be binding. CalPERS, the nation's largest public pension fund with $136 billion in assets, has not threatened to pull money out of the companies. But it agreed to co-sponsor the resolutions with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which is recruiting public pension funds around the country to force the issue. About 20 publicly traded companies are incorporated offshore in large part to avoid paying U.S. income taxes and because shareholders in other countries have more limited rights. Tyco International and Ingersoll-Rand are based in Bermuda, McDermott International in Panama. State Treasurer Phil Angelides, a member of the CalPERS investment committee, called offshore incorporation "a despicable practice." "It says we're not going to fulfill our corporate responsibility to pay taxes and we're going to make it hard to for shareholders to enforce their rights," he said. Angelides said it was especially important for public retirement funds to take a strong stand against the practice in light of a void in leadership at the Securities and Exchange Commission. AFSCME is also recruiting public retirement funds in Connecticut and other states to join their effort. Angelides said he would also bring the matter in front of the California teachers' retirement fund. ___