Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., the Senate’s top tax-law writer, and other lawmakers are looking to introduce legislation that would discourage U.S. companies from moving their headquarters abroad to skirt U.S. taxes.
In a Wall Street Journal op-ed published Thursday night, Wyden, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, wrote that he is concerned about the growing popularity of so-called inversions that businesses use to leave the U.S. tax system for lower taxes overseas. Among the proponents of inversions, he noted, is Pfizer Inc., which announced this year its bid to acquire London-based AstraZeneca Plc, a move that would allow the U.S. drugmaker to reincorporate in the United Kingdom and secure a decreased tax rate.
