Did AbbVie's tax arrangements draw criticism too?
A Senate Finance Committee report found US Humira intellectual property rights were held through a Bermuda subsidiary despite more than 77% of AbbVie's worldwide sales being made in the United States — a lawful structure that allowed profits to be booked in low-tax jurisdictions.
Yes. A Senate Finance Committee staff report on pharmaceutical tax avoidance found that the intellectual property rights for US Humira sales were held by a subsidiary incorporated in Bermuda, operating through a branch in Puerto Rico, even though more than 77% of AbbVie's worldwide sales were made in the United States. The report argued such structures allowed profits from American patients to be booked in low-tax jurisdictions.
This is a lawful tax planning structure widely used across the industry, and AbbVie has not been accused of breaking tax law. But the finding added to criticism that AbbVie extracted very high revenues from the US health system through pricing and patents while paying relatively little US tax on those profits.