Old corporate tax rate 'was never good for the United States,' Apple CEO says

— -- In an interview with ABC News’ Rebecca Jarvis, Apple CEO Tim Cook explained why many U.S. companies, including Apple, have parked billions of dollars in profits overseas for years.

The high corporate tax rate in the U.S. encouraged companies to keep that money deployed elsewhere and "we thought this was never good for the United States because it motivates people to invest elsewhere instead of in the country," he said.

When asked whether Apple could potentially save tens of billions of dollars on taxes in the future, Cook was hesitant.

"No it's not tens of billions, we don't we don't make that much in the United States," he said. "But we will be paying less. And you know that's one reason why we can make these ongoing investments and invest over $350 billion in the United States."