The agribusiness giant is considering a sneaky scheme to avoid paying taxes on billions of dollars in profit – and it is all perfectly legal.
Monsanto is considering a plan to buy Syngenta a Swiss agrochemical company. The move would allow it to declare itself a Swiss company for tax purposes.
Fair Share is urging folks to sign a petition calling on Congress to pass the Stop Corporate Inversions Act, which would save taxpayers an estimated $34 billion over the next decade.
If Monsanto does indeed renounce their status as a U.S. based company, it will mean they will be taxed at a much lower rate than American-based companies in a scheme that is referred to as a corporate "inversion." The crazy thing is, they don't actually have to move their CEO or any of their central offices, they can just claim on paper to be headquartered in Switzerland, much in the way that Burger King is now, on paper a Canadian company.
According to the Center for Effective Government, "Monsanto could owe as much as $1.5 billion in U.S. taxes on these offshore profits, an amount that could be permanently avoided if the new company engages in complex legal and tax transactions following an inversion."
We can't let big corporations continue to dodge taxes with high paid tax lawyers -- everyone should pay their fair share and play by the same rules. How can we invest in education or job growth if large, profitable companies are scheming to avoid paying their fair share?
Go here to sign the petition and send a message to Congress – and to Monsanto.