Kenilworth, NJ-Based Drug Co Merck Had Its 4Q 2017 Earnings Hit With a Net $2.6 Bil Income Tax Expense Charge Due to the US Trump Tax Bill ....................................................................................... The Two Main Components of the Net $2.6 Bil Charge Were the Tax Toll on the Mandatory Foreign Earnings Repatriation of $5.0 Bil Offset Primarily By the Tax Debt Forgiveness Feature Contained in the Trump Tax Bill ....................................................................................... Given That the Cumulative Foreign Earnings Reinvested Overseas Was $63 Bil at Dec 31, 2016 one year ago, a Tax Toll of $5.0 Bil, Even After Considering the Deferred Income Tax Liability Related to the Unremitted Foreign Earnings Already on the Books, Seems Like a Really Attractive Income Tax Rate on the Huge Level of Unremitted Foreign Earnings in Late Dec 2017