Posted by Michael Wonder on 10 Jul 2018
A new messaging tactic on the left: drug prices rise, as pharma prospers from tax law
9 July 2018 - A tax policy group here is trying to rally outrage over last year’s Republican-backed tax cut by pointing to one of its main beneficiaries: the pharmaceutical industry.
Americans for Tax Fairness, a coalition of left-leaning groups that advocate for placing a heavier tax burden on corporations and the wealthy, said in a report that drug companies are “among the biggest winners from the Trump-GOP tax cuts, but they are sharing few of the benefits with their employees and are offering no pricing relief to their customers.”
The group released a report calculating that five companies it analysed would save a combined $6 billion in 2018 — and that 10 would save $76 billion in taxes on offshore revenue. Instead of passing those savings on to consumers or hiking employee wages, most companies have favoured major stock buybacks or raising dividends. Drug prices have also continued to increase.
