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US: New inversion rules threaten Allergan-Pfizer merger

By  |  April 5, 2016

America’s Treasury Department has unveiled new rules making it harder for companies to pull off tax-avoiding corporate “inversion” deals, raising questions over the forthcoming $160bn merger of US-based Pfizer and Dublin-domiciled Allergan.

The changes follow sharp criticism of Pfizer’s and Allergan’s pending merger, which will see Pfizer relocate its headquarters from the US to Dublin, where corporation tax is much lower.

The merger, which will be the largest healthcare deal in history when it completes, was slammed by US lawmakers when it was announced last November as the latest in a series of transactions in which US-based companies move their legal addresses overseas to take advantage of lower tax rates. Allergan operates out of New Jersey and does most of its business in the US, but has its headquarters in Dublin.

The pharmaceutical companies said they were reviewing the Treasury Department’s notice. “Prior to completing the review, we won’t speculate on any potential impact,” they said.

Full content: NPR

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