In The News

Walgreen considers headquarters move: Is tax loophole unpatriotic?

Chicago Tribune

JUNE 29, 2014 | BY Ameet Sachdev

Walgreen Co. is at a crossroads, but it may not be “at the corner of happy and healthy” as its advertising slogan suggests.The nation’s largest drugstore chain is considering a move that would allow it to significantly cut its tax bill and increase profits. But it’s being painted by critics as un-American for looking to make money for shareholders through financial engineering at the expense of the communities that it grew up in.

Senators Say Walgreen Domicile Move Like ‘Giving Up On America’

Forbes

JUNE 25, 2014 | BY bruce japsen

Dick Durbin, the second-most powerful U.S. Senator in Washington, is upping the ante and “chiding” a sudden flurry of U.S. companies considering taking advantage of a loophole that allows them to avoid higher corporate taxes here by reincorporating overseas.

Walgreen Pulls Goals on Alliance Boots Partnership

Wall Street Journal

June 24, 2014 | BY ANNA PRIOR

Walgreen Co. pulled its goals for fiscal year 2016, saying key decisions still need to be made about its partnership with European drug giant Alliance Boots GmbH, while also highlighting a number of pressures that hurt its pharmacy operations in the May quarter.

Tax Fairness Groups Rally Against Walgreen’s Potential $4 Billion Tax Dodge

Progress Illinois

June 11, 2014 | BY Ellyn Fortino

Tax fairness activists rallied outside of the Walgreens downtown Chicago flagship store Wednesday morning in protest of possible plans by the nation’s biggest pharmacy chain to move its corporate address from Illinois to Switzerland, a “tax haven.”

Walgreen Ponders $4 Billion Tax Dodge

Huffington Post

JUNE 11, 2014 | BY Ben hallman

Walgreen, the biggest U.S. retail drugstore chain, is considering decamping to Switzerland in a quest for bigger tax breaks, just two years after reaping a hefty package of Illinois tax credits in exchange for keeping corporate jobs in the state.

Move to Switzerland to dodge IRS may give Walgreen blues

New York Post

JUNE 11, 2014 | BY JAMES COVERT

If Walgreen wants to save a mountain on taxes by moving to Switzerland, it had better get ready for an avalanche of criticism. The drugstore giant could save $4 billion in federal taxes over the next five years by reincorporating in Switzerland, according to a report to be released Wednesday.

U.S. activists slam possible Walgreen tax move as ‘unpatriotic’

Reuters

JUNE 11, 2014 | BY KEVIN DRAWBAUGH

If Walgreen Co were to relocate its tax home-base to Switzerland, as some of its investors want, the United States would lose about $4 billion in tax revenue over five years, activist groups said on Wednesday.

Drug-store chain Walgreens bids for early Boots takeover

The Telegraph

May 18, 2014 | BY Harriet Dennys

Britain’s biggest chemist, Alliance Boots, could be wholly owned by America’s largest drug-store chain within eight months. The Walgreen Company currently holds a 45pc stake and has an option to buy the remaining 55pc between February and August next year.

Walgreen’s U.S. Fate Could Be Sealed by Labor Day

The Street

MAY 9, 2014 | BY antoine gara

Expect Walgreen’s to soon say whether the company will move its headquarters outside the U.S. in an effort cut its corporate tax rate. That expected color comes after a handful of large Walgreen’s investors began pressing the company to consider a move to a lower-tax jurisdiction as part of its acquisition of European pharmacy giant Alliance Boots.

Lawmakers Urge Drug Store Chains To Stop Carrying Tobacco Products

Consumerist

APRIL 29, 2014 | BY CHRIS MORRAN

It’s been nearly three months since CVS announced it was phasing out the sale of tobacco products in its stores, and so far no other major drug store chain has followed suit. So today, a dozen members of Congress, led by Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey, called on these retailers to put an end to their part in the sale of cigarettes and other items containing tobacco.

Walgreens Store Redesign Raises Privacy Concerns

KQED State of Health

APRIL 22, 2014 | BY CHRIS RICHARD

Privacy activists are voicing concern that Walgreens pharmacies may endanger the confidentiality of customer records with a new business model that places pharmacists at a desk on the store floor.

Is Wasson losing control of Walgreen?

Crain’s Chicago Business

APRIL 14, 2014 | BY BRIGID SWEENEY

Walgreen Co. CEO Greg Wasson’s fight with powerful shareholders isn’t just over the location of the drug retailer’s headquarters — it’s ultimately a battle for control of the company.

Walgreens urged to leave US to gain tax benefit

Financial Times

APRIL 13, 2014 | BY ED HAMMOND

Walgreens has come under pressure from an influential group of its shareholders, who want the US pharmacy chain to consider relocating to Europe, in what would be one of the largest tax inversions ever attempted.

Pharmacy board’s actions raise questions about ethics, patient privacy, safety

Indianapolis Star

MARCH 30, 2014 | BY JOHN RUSSEL

A powerful member of the Indiana Board of Pharmacy was quietly involved in discussions with state pharmacy regulators about a $100 million project that benefited his employer — Walgreens pharmacies.

Consumer group alleges Walgreens model breaks law

Associated Press

MARCH 20, 2014 | BY STEVE MILLER

A union-backed advocacy group alleges in a complaint to the state’s Department of Health that Walgreens pharmacies in Florida are violating state law by allowing its pharmacists to sit at a table away from the actual pharmacy, allowing technicians to work without supervision.