Schakowsky Statement on Proposed Pfizer-Allergan Merger

CHICAGO- Representative Schakowsky released the following statement in response to the proposed Pfizer-Allergan merger:

American consumers are sick and tired of pharmaceutical companies charging too much for prescription drugs, and American taxpayers are sick and tired of footing the bill for large corporations that dodge their fair tax share. Pfizer has combined the worst of both practices – this week announcing a proposed merger with Allergan designed to boost its profits while slashing its tax payments.

Federal dollars have helped make Pfizer what it is today. Over the past five years, Pfizer has received more than $5 billion in government contracts. The company has also made big bucks off of taxpayer-funded research by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). And it earns over $1 billion each year through Medicare and Medicaid.

The proposed merger of Pfizer and Allergan would reduce competition and allow the combined $160 billion company to raise prices for goods and services – and there is no more important good than effective, life-saving drugs. It would also allow Pfizer to pay almost $2 billion less in U.S. taxes next year, and perhaps even less in the future. Relocating to Ireland to dodge taxes isn’t only shameful – it’s un-American.

Some in Congress will argue that this is an example of why we need to lower corporate tax rates here at home. But Pfizer is already taxed less than blue-collar workers struggling to make ends meet for their families. Pfizer’s effective tax rate for the first 9 months of 2015 was less than 24 percent. At the same time, every dollar an individual earns over $37,450 is taxed at least 25 percent. We need tax reform, but it should close tax loopholes like the ones Pfizer is exploiting, not open up new ones.

This behavior needs to stop because Americans deserve better. First, the proposed merger of Pfizer and Allergan should be rejected by the Federal Trade Commission. Second, we need to put an end to Pfizer and others moving a few corporate offices overseas in order to avoid paying U.S. taxes. Speaker Ryan should bring H.R. 415, the Stop Corporate Inversions Act, to the floor without delay so we can stop Pfizer and others from benefitting from all our country has to offer while simultaneously shirking their tax bills.