Prescription for poverty

Drug companies as tax dodgers, price gougers, and influence peddlers

Publication date: 17 September 2018
Author: Mark Fried

New Oxfam research shows that four pharmaceutical corporations – Abbott, Johnson & Johnson, Merck & Co (MSD), and Pfizer – systematically hide their profits in overseas tax havens. This activity could deprive developing countries of more than $100 million every year – money that is urgently needed to meet the health needs of people in these countries – while charging very high prices for their products.

Tax dodging, high prices, and political influencing by drug companies exacerbate the yawning gap between rich and poor, between men and women, and between advanced economies and developing ones.

This report presents new research by Oxfam which shows how corporations can use sophisticated tax planning to take advantage of a broken system that allows multinational corporations from many different industries to avoid taxes.