Overview
Steptoe partner Lisa Zarlenga, co-chair of the firm’s Tax Group, was quoted in an article in The Hill titled “Pfizer Merger Stokes Calls for Congressional Crackdown.” The article, published November 24, discusses how the planned merger of pharmaceutical giants Pfizer and Allergan is prompting fresh calls for congressional action to prevent so-called corporate inversions, where companies shield themselves from US taxes by reincorporating overseas.
Ms. Zarlenga says while there is consensus that lower tax rates would reduce the incentive for companies to invert, “the bigger policy questions that Congress is being asked to grapple with are (a) what are the consequences of inversions to the economy and the federal government, (b) what are the best ways to limit any adverse consequences, and (c) will continued transactions of this nature translate into greater urgency for the Congress and the administration to begin serious discussions about tax reform?”
The full article can be read at The Hill.
