Just an hour after Bernie Sanders exclaimed that the Pfizer/Allergan merger would be a disaster for Americans who already pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs, Hillary Clinton has come out swinging in her most populist manner lambasting Republicans for "enabling tax inversions" and vowing to "crackdown" on companies moving abroad to "avoid paying their fair share."
First this...
This merger would be a disaster for Americans who already pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs https://t.co/tghyU6KrHO [3]
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) November 23, 2015 [4]
And then this... The Clinton Press Statement
Today, Hillary Clinton is expressing her deep concerns with the announced merger of Pfizer and Allergan, which would produce the world’s largest pharmaceutical company by allowing Pfizer to shift its corporate residence overseas to unfairly ease its tax burden. Throughout this campaign, Clinton has said that our economy works best when businesses invest in America for the long term, driving growth, innovation, jobs, and better pay. She firmly believes businesses should get ahead by building a stronger economy here at home, rather than using tax loopholes to shift earnings overseas, or to move abroad to escape paying their fair share.
That is why Clinton is releasing the following statement on the Pfizer-Allergan merger:
“For too long, powerful corporations have exploited loopholes that allow them to hide earnings abroad to lower their taxes. Now Pfizer is trying to reduce its tax bill even further. This proposed merger, and so-called ‘inversions’ by other companies, will leave U.S. taxpayers holding the bag. As President, I will fight to reform our tax system to reward growth, innovation, and job creation here in the United States. We cannot delay in cracking down on inversions that erode our tax base.“In the weeks ahead, I will propose specific steps to prevent these kind of transactions, which take advantage of loopholes that litter our tax code, distort incentives for investment, and disadvantage small businesses and domestic firms that cannot game the international tax system. I urge Congress to act immediately to make sure the biggest corporations pay their fair share, and regulators also should look hard at stronger actions they can take to stop companies from shifting earnings overseas. Republicans should stop trying to tilt the tax code even further in favor of the super wealthy and the largest corporations and join us in supporting these necessary reforms on behalf of U.S. taxpayers. We should come together to encourage investment and job creation here in the United States, not this kind of damaging gamesmanship.”
Seems like the Pharma industry has some more lobbying dollars to spend.
