Immediate government action is needed to plug a loophole that allows U.S. corporations to avoid federal taxes by shifting their tax domiciles overseas through deals known as inversions, the head of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee said on Tuesday. Nine inversion deals have been agreed to this year by companies ranging from banana distributor Chiquita Brands International Inc to drugmaker AbbVie Inc and more are being considered. The transactions are setting a record pace since the first inversion was done 32 years ago.Washington is increasingly concerned about the trend. "Let's work together to immediately cool down the inversion fever ... The inversion loophole needs to be plugged now," said Democratic Senator Ron Wyden, finance committee chairman, at a hearing.Several Democrats have offered bills to curb the inversion deals, which can put foreign earnings out of the reach of the Internal Revenue Service and make other tax savings possible to boost a multinational company's bottom line. But no new law is likely as long as Republicans contend that inversion rules need to be part of a broader overhaul of the tax code, policy analysts said.Wyden said his panel asked the chief executives of several inverted companies to testify at the hearing on international tax law problems. "None accepted our invitations," he said.
AbbVie Inc. (AbbVie) is a research-based pharmaceuticals company. Shares of ABBV traded higher by 0.09% or $0.051/share to $54.05. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $42.25 and as high as $58.27. On average, 7641510 shares of ABBV exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 5436332.
Chiquita Brands International, Inc. (CBII), along with its subsidiaries, is an international marketer and distributor of bananas and other fresh produce, sold under the Chiquita and other brand names in 70 countries, and packaged salads sold under the Fresh Express and other brand names primarily in the United States. Shares of CQB traded higher by 2.16% or $0.22/share to $10.41. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $9.24 and as high as $13.68. On average, 355356 shares of CQB exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 130547.
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