The head of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee is seeking details from Merck about the taxes paid during a recent three-year period as part of an ongoing investigation into tax practices by multinational pharmaceutical companies and efforts made to avoid paying U.S. taxes.
Earlier this year, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who chairs the committee, began probing Bristol Myers Squibb over a deal in which the company used offshore subsidiaries allegedly to avoid paying up to $1.4 billion in U.S. taxes on prescription drug sales. And he previously accused AbbVie of shifting profits offshore and registering patents in low-tax jurisdictions to avoid paying U.S. corporate income taxes.