FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 10, 2015
Monsanto Showing Itself Out of the Show Me State?
114 Years in Missouri Ignored as Multinational Gets Ready to Invert
Washington, DC – The FACT (Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency) Coalition is expressing its sadness and outrage over Monsanto’s plan to acquire Switzerland-based Syngenta, as the agricultural multinational corporation would be surrendering its 114-year history in the state of Missouri and, at least on paper, move overseas.
The merger, which was rejected last month by Syngenta, appears to be on again as Monsanto has renewed its pursuit of the company in the last few days. It remains unclear, however, if Monsanto’s plan to invert, and avoid U.S. corporate taxes in the process, will be successful.
The potential inversion has also attracted attention on Capitol Hill, as Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) sent a letter to the St. Louis-based company urging them to reconsider and calling attention to the Stop Corporate Inversions Act of 2015, which was introduced by Durbin and Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) in the Senate and Reps. Sandy Levin (D-MI) and Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) in the House.
“It’s tough to imagine that Monsanto would turn its back on over a century of history in the very heart of this country, and outrageous to think they would do it just to avoid paying taxes,” observed FACT Executive Director Rebecca Wilkins. “We can only hope that they will come to their senses and realize that the taxes that they pay, along with those paid by every individual, small business, and domestic corporation in the country, help pay for the rights, benefits and privileges we all enjoy. Monsanto certainly has enjoyed its share of those benefits throughout its long history.”
“Monsanto’s planned inversion demonstrates that companies will continue to abuse the corporate inversion loophole until Congress takes action,” noted Bob McIntyre, Director of Citizens for Tax Justice. “Congress can and should end this by taking immediate action to ensure corporations cannot continue to exploit this egregious loophole that allows them to pretend to be foreign to avoid U.S. taxes.”
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Media Contact:
Nick Jacobs
202-841-1466
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Founded in 2011, the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency (FACT) Coalition unites civil society representatives from small business, labor, government watchdog, faith-based, human rights, anti-corruption, public-interest, and international development organizations. We seek an honest and fair corporate tax code, greater transparency in corporate ownership and operations, and commonsense policies to combat the facilitation of money laundering and other criminal activity by the financial system.