As we approach the two-year anniversary of Senator Collins’ vote for the GOP tax bill, Maine Democrats will highlight how Senator Collins put corporate special interests ahead of hardworking Mainers in a series we’re calling the “12 Days of Corporate Tax Giveaways” ☃️
Senator Collins has benefitted from strong support from the pharmaceutical industry, accepting more than $400,000 from drug companies during her Senate career. In 2017, she returned the favor by voting for the GOP tax bill that allowed the top four pharmaceutical companies to save $7 billion.
Big pharmaceutical companies gained so much money from the GOP tax bill that the windfall could have covered two thirds of the children in the US currently not covered by the Children’s Health Insurance Program. But instead of putting the funds towards valuable pursuits like investing in research and development for lifesaving drugs, drug companies “plowed that money into stock buybacks and dividends” for their wealthy investors. Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer even shut down its research on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, laying off 300 workers.
While the GOP tax bill helped Senator Collins’ corporate donors get richer, it hurt her constituents back home in Maine. The bill stuck Mainers with four-figure health care premium increases and sparked a lawsuit that now threatens coverage protections for the nearly 600,000 Mainers who have pre-existing conditions.
“Senator Collins’ vote for the GOP tax bill was a betrayal of Mainers,” said Maine Democratic Party Executive Director Lisa Roberts. “We need a Senator who puts our state first, not their corporate special interest donors.”
After taking hundreds of thousands from the pharmaceutical industry, Collins voted for the tax bill that gave them billions in tax breaks
Collins has taken $400,000 from drug companies
1996-Present: Collins Has Taken $412,999 From The Pharmaceutical Industry. [Center for Responsive Politics, accessed 12/5/19]
Collins-backed tax bill gave just the top 4 pharma companies $7 Billion in tax breaks, which they spent on enriching their investors
Top four pharma companies saved $7 billion from Collins-backed tax bill, spent the windfall on their own investors – the amount they saved could cover two-thirds of children not covered under CHIP
HEADLINE: “4 Pharma Companies Saved $7 Billion From GOP Tax Law.” [Axios, 4/9/19]
HEADLINE: “J&J, Merck And Pfizer Spent Tax Savings On Investor Payouts, Not R&D: Oxfam.” [Fierce Pharma, 4/15/19]
HEADLINE: “Pfizer, Allergan Win Out With Tax Benefits.” [Bloomberg, 4/12/18]
Four Pharmaceutical Companies, Including Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, And Abbott Laboratories, Collectively Saved $7 Billion Due To The Tax Law. “Four pharmaceutical companies — Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Merck and Abbott Laboratories — collectively kept $7 billion in tax savings in 2018 due to Republicans' 2017 corporate tax overhaul, according to a new Oxfam report.” [Axios, 4/9/19]
Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, And Abbott Laboratories Received A Combined $7 Billion Tax Cut And Then “Plowed That Money Into Stock Buybacks And Dividends” For Their Wealthy Investors. “Four pharma companies—Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Pfizer and Abbott Laboratories—reaped a combined $7 billion in savings from two provisions in the tax bill, according to a recent Oxfam report (PDF), and they plowed that money into stock buybacks and dividends.” [Fierce Pharma, 4/15/19]
Pfizer “Boosted Its Buybacks And Dividends By A Whopping $7.5 Billion In 2018” And Spent Less Than Half Of That On Research And Development. “Pfizer increased its investor payouts even more, though. The company boosted its buybacks and dividends by a whopping $7.5 billion in 2018, bringing its total to more than $20 billion. The same year, Pfizer spent less than half that amount, $8 billion, on R&D. The company did not respond to a request for comment by press time.” [Fierce Pharma, 4/15/19]
The $7 Billion Windfall For Just Four Pharmaceutical Companies Could Have Covered Two-Thirds Of The Children Not Covered Under CHIP. “Oxfam estimated the $7 billion the four companies saved in 2018 could cover the cost of two-thirds of U.S. children not covered under the Children’s Health and Insurance Program.” [Fierce Pharma, 4/15/19]
Pfizer ended its Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s research just weeks after the Collins-backed tax bill became law, giving it billions in savings
Column HEADLINE: “Column: Pfizer, Pocketing A Big Tax Cut From Trump, Will End Investment In Alzheimer’s And Parkinson’s Research.” [Michael Hiltzik Column, Los Angeles Times, 1/8/18]
HEADLINE: “Pfizer Halts Research Into Alzheimer’s And Parkinson’s Treatments.” [NPR, 1/8/18]
HEADLINE: “Pfizer Is The Latest Drug Maker To Reap Billions From Trump’s Tax Cuts.” [Fortune, 1/30/18]
Michael Hiltzik Column: Pfizer Announced That It Would “[Shut] Down Its Research Efforts On Treatments For Alzheimer’s And Parkinsonism,” Laying Off 300 Workers. “The big drug company Pfizer seems intent on being a pace-setter in cranking out the benefits of the tax cut to stakeholders who need them the least. In an announcement over the weekend, Pfizer said it was shutting down its research efforts on treatments for Alzheimer’s and Parkinsonism. The company didn’t say how much it was spending on the two conditions, but said about 300 researchers will lose their jobs as it redirects its research and development budget elsewhere.” [Michael Hiltzik Column, Los Angeles Times, 1/8/18]
NPR: Pfizer’s Decision To End Research Into Alzheimer’s And Parkinson’s “Is Likely To Come As A Blow Not Only To Pfizer Employees, But Also To Millions Of People Worldwide Suffering From Alzheimer’s And Parkinson’s.” “The decision is likely to come as a blow not only to Pfizer employees, but also the millions of people worldwide suffering from Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, two neurodegenerative disorders that target memory and motor functions, respectively.” [NPR, 1/8/18]
Pfizer Saw An $11 Billion Tax Break From The Collins-Backed Tax Bill. “Pfizer, the U.S. drug giant behind blockbuster treatments like Viagra and the pneumonia vaccine Prevnar, reported fourth quarter 2017 earnings which easily beat Wall Street analyst expectations, including a massive $11 billion boost from President Donald Trump’s new tax cuts. Pfizer stock initially gained on Tuesday morning before dropping by about 3%.” [Fortune, 1/30/18]
Pfizer donated $22,600 to Collins and her Leadership PAC
1996-Present: Pfizer’s Corporate PAC Has Donated $22,600 To Collins And Her Leadership PAC. [FEC, accessed 12/4/19]
Pharmaceutical “titan” Eli Lilly made hundreds of millions in profits in 2018, but paid no federal taxes thanks to the Collins-backed tax bill
Rolling Stone: In 2018, “Pharmaceutical Titan Eli Lilly” Made $595 Million In Profits But Paid No Taxes, Thanks In Part To The “Magic Of The 2017 Tax Bill.” “The report, from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), highlights some of the most recognizable names in corporate America who faced no tax bill, including Big Oil giant Chevron ($4.5 billion in profits), tech darling Netflix ($856 million), pharmaceutical titan Eli Lilly ($595 million) and industrial stalwart Goodyear Tire & Rubber ($440 million). […] Below, according to ITEP, is a list of the 26 companies that raked in at least $1 billion in profits but — through the magic of the 2017 tax bill, edgy accounting practices, special carveouts and corporate tax shelters — did not pay anything to the government on their earnings.” [Rolling Stone, 4/15/19]
Pharmaceutical company AbbVie reported a 96% tax cut during the first nine months of 2018
HEADLINE: “AbbVie’s 96% Tax Break: Big Pharma Reaps Huge Benefit From Trump Tax Reform.” [Fierce Pharma, 11/2/18]
In The First Nine Months Of 2018, Pharmaceutical Company AbbVie Reported A 96% Tax Break From 2017. “But the four companies Oxfam singled out aren't the only beneficiaries of the Trump tax bill. For the first nine months of 2018, AbbVie reported a 96% tax break from the year before, reportedly owing just $57 million in year-to-date taxes compared with $1.28 billion the year before. According to patient access watchdogs at I-MAK, AbbVie's best-selling Humira racks up around $50 million in sales every day, meaning the company could cover that nine-month tax burden in about 28 hours.” [Fierce Pharma, 4/15/19]
AbbVie Makes Enough Money From The Sales Of Just One Drug To Cover The Nine-Month Period’s Tax Burden In Just Over One Day. “But the four companies Oxfam singled out aren't the only beneficiaries of the Trump tax bill. For the first nine months of 2018, AbbVie reported a 96% tax break from the year before, reportedly owing just $57 million in year-to-date taxes compared with $1.28 billion the year before. According to patient access watchdogs at I-MAK, AbbVie's best-selling Humira racks up around $50 million in sales every day, meaning the company could cover that nine-month tax burden in about 28 hours.” [Fierce Pharma, 4/15/19]
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