Johnson & Johnson
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- Published on Sunday, 29 November -0001 16:00
- Written by editor
Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Merck & Co, and Abbott are stashing their profits in overseas tax havens -- depriving governments everywhere of the funds to provide healthcare and education.
Tell big pharma to pay its fair share and stop dodging tax!
A,
Johnson & Johnson is cheating women and girls out of the chance to beat poverty.
Turns out the pharmaceutical giant that has promised generations of children 'no more tears' is dodging its taxes.
And it’s not the only member of the big pharma club that systematically stashes its profits in overseas tax havens. According to a new report by Oxfam International, Pfizer, Merck &... Co (MSD), and Abbott are at it too. In doing so, they’re cheating governments out of millions that could be invested in public services – healthcare, education, and infrastructure.
That’s bad for all of us, but it’s women and girls living in poverty that pay the biggest price, missing out on education and healthcare that makes it possible for them to thrive.
It’s time that the makers of household names like Tylenol and Baby Shampoo come clean about their finances.
Oxfam’s new report scours the balance sheets of Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Merck, and Abbott in 19 countries. The US government alone could be losing billions, and poorer countries are likely losing out on millions of dollars in taxes from these companies that could be used to pay for clinics and schools, nurses and vaccines.
Instead of paying what they really owe, it appears drug companies are stashing billions of dollars in profits offshore, and charging sky-high prices that many can barely afford, and depleting the funds of state medical services like the NHS.
In many countries, thousands of women continue to die every year as a result of inadequate maternal health care. Women also shoulder the burden of care for loved ones when the health system fails.
Meanwhile, the CEO’s of Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Merck & Co, and Abbott took home more than $80 million dollars in 2017 alone.
There’s a simple three point plan for companies like Johnson & Johnson to follow if they want to walk the walk as well as talking the talk of being a responsible company:
- Pay their fair share of taxes
- Stop working to rig government rules in ways that undermine the fight against poverty
- Make their medicines affordable to the people who need them
Let’s make them do just that.
Tell Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Merck & Co (MSD), and Abbott: pay your fair share!
SumOfUs members like you have already helped make great strides to stamp out tax dodging. Last December, in just a couple of days, nearly 40,000 of you signed a petition calling on the EU to crack down hard on tax dodging, and between you, you sent thousands of tweets to finance ministers across the Europe. Your efforts paid off with the publication of a ‘blacklist’ of tax havens -- and notorious tax havens committing to change in order to avoid being put on it.
Let’s continue to keep the pressure up and this time hold big pharma to account for their tax dodging ways that cost ordinary people so dearly.
Thanks for all that you do,
Sondhya and the team at SumOfUs
More information:
Drug firms ‘avoid £124m of British tax’, The Times (paywall), 18 September 2018.
Pharmaceutical companies avoiding $215m a year in Australian tax, Oxfam says, The Guardian, 18 September 2018.
Pharma Companies Avoid $3.8 Bln In Tax Per Year, Says Oxfam, Nasdaq, 18 September 2018
Ireland’s corporate tax rate hurting emerging economies – Oxfam, The Irish Times, 18 September 2018.
Prescription for poverty: Drug companies as tax dodgers, price gougers, and influence peddlers, Ofxam, 18 September 2018.
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