Durbin Warns Of Customer Boycott If Walgreen Moves HQ To Europe
From Crain's Chicago Business
The U.S. Senate's No. 2 Democrat Tuesday ramped up his opposition to tax-driven corporate headquarters relocations another notch, suggesting that customers of Walgreen Co. may defect if the drugstore chain proceeds with a rumored HQ move to Europe.
"Is 'the corner of happy and healthy' somewhere in the Swiss Alps?" Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., asked in a letter to Gregory Wasson, president and CEO of the Deerfield-based retailer. "I strongly urge you and the board of directors to reconsider your decision to move the company's domicile overseas to avoid U.S. taxes," a process known as a corporate inversion.
Actually, Walgreen has made no such decision yet, at least not one that's been announced. But one is widely expected after last week's announcement that another big Illinois company, AbbVie Inc., is acquiring a British firm so it can move its headquarters and cut its corporate tax rate from 22 percent to 13 percent.
In his letter, Mr. Durbin conceded that Walgreen could "dodge" an estimated $4 billion in U.S. taxes over the next five years by moving its headquarters to Switzerland. "I recognize that potential windfall is an attractive option for shareholders," he wrote.
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From Crain's Chicago Business
The U.S. Senate's No. 2 Democrat Tuesday ramped up his opposition to tax-driven corporate headquarters relocations another notch, suggesting that customers of Walgreen Co. may defect if the drugstore chain proceeds with a rumored HQ move to Europe.
"Is 'the corner of happy and healthy' somewhere in the Swiss Alps?" Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., asked in a letter to Gregory Wasson, president and CEO of the Deerfield-based retailer. "I strongly urge you and the board of directors to reconsider your decision to move the company's domicile overseas to avoid U.S. taxes," a process known as a corporate inversion.
Actually, Walgreen has made no such decision yet, at least not one that's been announced. But one is widely expected after last week's announcement that another big Illinois company, AbbVie Inc., is acquiring a British firm so it can move its headquarters and cut its corporate tax rate from 22 percent to 13 percent.
In his letter, Mr. Durbin conceded that Walgreen could "dodge" an estimated $4 billion in U.S. taxes over the next five years by moving its headquarters to Switzerland. "I recognize that potential windfall is an attractive option for shareholders," he wrote.
Read more in our daily News Update...