Christopher Snowbeck writes

Medtronic's Covidien deal spurs debate about corporate taxesIs Medtronic's massive international corporate merger a billion-dollar tax dodge, an indictment of the U.S. tax code, or a business-savvy work-around that would spur investment and growth in the Twin Cities?The answer depends on who you talk to.The $42.9 billion cash-and-stock purchase of Covidien, announced Sunday, comes with plans for Medtronic to decamp its executive suite to Ireland, where Covidien is based.It also will nearly double the size of the Fridley-based medical device maker, and likely result in no significant change in its 8,000-strong Twin Cities workforce. The company is talking about adding 1,000 workers locally.The move is designed to allow Medtronic to avoid U.S. corporate tax rates in repatriating foreign earnings and cash held overseas, potentially letting the company invest billions in the United States.But critics questioned whether Medtronic would unfairly shift its tax burden to others. Some questioned whether the move will diminish Medtronic's role in Minnesota, where it's been central to a 50-year local narrative of innovation and business development.Minnesota politicians of both stripes were critical."This clearly highlights the need to fix our broken tax code so American companies can be more competitive," said Republican U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen. A statement from the Minnesota GOP blamed a medical-device tax associated with Obamacare.And U.S. Sen. Al Franken, a Democrat, said: "Deals tha...

Source: PharmaGossip - June 17, 2014 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: insider Source Type: blogs