Walgreens Urged to Leave US to Gain Tax Benefit

Walgreens has come under pressure from an influential group of its shareholders, who want the U.S. pharmacy chain to consider relocating to Europe, in what would be one of the largest tax inversions ever attempted. At a private meeting in Paris on Friday, investors owning close to 5 percent of Walgreens’ shares lobbied the company's management to use its $16 billion takeover of Swiss-based Alliance Boots to re-domicile its tax base. The move, known as an inversion, would dramatically reduce Walgreens’ taxable income in the U.S., which has among the highest corporate tax rates in the world.