Companies, Investors Face Fresh Debate on Income Tax Disclosure

The possibility of higher taxes on U.S. companies’ foreign income under the Biden administration is making investors and analysts wary about which businesses could be stuck with big tax bills.

A deep-dive into financial statements doesn’t give them many clues. Companies don’t have to say how much income flows through particular countries.

“It’s by extrapolation from all different sources to come up with an estimate,” said Janet Pegg, analyst at Zion Research Group. “You don’t get enough information; you get this mishmash.”

Investors want this to change. They’re renewing their calls to U.S. accounting rulemakers to give a fresh ...