Walgreens Caves on Plan to Dodge Taxes By Relocating Abroad

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/economy/walgreens-caves-plan-dodge-taxes-relocating-abroad



Walgreens has just announced it is abandoning plans to use tax loophole called "corporate inversion" to slither out of paying U.S. taxes. Now that's something to celebrate.

In a burst of greed and a slap in the face to hard-working Americans who pay their taxes, U.S.-domiciled corporations are on a spree, trying to cheat us by re-incorporating themselves overseas. A Bloomberg analysis estimated American companies are parking as much as $2 trillion in cash overseas — money that could be used to pay for vital services for citizens.

That's the thanks these unpatriotic companies give for all the many things we provide them in order to operate, from America's public schools that educate their workers to the infrastructure needed to move their products to the court systems which protect their interests. When they try this relocating maneuver, guess who they want to protect them from foreign governments? You guessed it, the U.S. military.

Walgreens sought to use a takeover of Europe’s biggest pharmacy chain, Alliance Boots (ABN.UL), to execute its outrageous plan. But the Illinois-based company has decided on an about-face. Carla Engle, executive director of American Family Voices, reports that more than 162,000 people signed a petition stating their opposition to the plan with a demand that the company pay its fair share of taxes.

[JustAnotherGen]

1. I think their customers

Myself included had an impact here. I raised hell on this one.

I don't like Rite Aid or CVS - just from a black hair care product availability in an extremely affluent semi rural town (NJ Horse Country) they are the only game in town. I've never walked into the one down the block and not seen other black women in my town at the same section in the hair aisle.

It might seem trite - but they should know that the people who shop there and rack up huge points were pretty pissed off.

I hope they mean it!

[jwirr]

4. i agree.

[politicaljunkie41910]

5. Sorry but I'm not as forgiving as you are. I will never use them again.

I think that Walgreens saw the handwriting on the wall in the form of CVS, Rite Aid, WalMart, Costco, and just about every major grocery food chain in this country. I hope everyone boycotts Walgreen to send them and the next multi-competitve chain store considering such a blunder to think twice. As for black hair products, there's a Sally's Beauty Supply store in every corner of the market I visit, even some of the smallest towns with very small minority populations, and even the grocery stores. And if that's not enough there's always the internet. I will not contribute to this particular corrupt brand of corporate greet. There are too many alternatives for my dollar, and if I have to drive a little out of my way to do so, I view it as as small sacrifice for getting even with the greedy bastards.

[JustAnotherGen]

6. I'm between a rock and a hard place

Drive 35 miles down the road to Sally Beauty supply - or walk to Walgreens.

And even though the products are made in China - that's the only place I can find 100% treeless paper products since my local shop rite stores no longer carry them.

I'll shake hand with the devil if that's the only place I can find curl stretch cream (used by black women who wear our hair naturally) in my neighborhood - and toilet paper not made by the Koch brothers that is also made from grasses and quick growing easy to replace sources.

I wrote directly to the District Manager with a copy of my rewards and an estimate of my purchases there for the past year.

[historylovr]

2. Part of me can't help but wonder if

the company will wait until the furor dies down and quietly do it anyway, same as the big banks went ahead and implemented monthly fees for "free" checking accounts.

[randome]

3. It's not outrageous at all. What's outrageous is that Congress encourages this.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]TECT in the name of the Representative approves of this post.[/center][/font][hr]

[Zorra]

7. I use Walgreen's because it is a very LGBT friendly business, and am very glad

to know that I can continue to support them.

HRC has rated them 100% on their Corporate Equality Index.