To: Hugh Grant, Monsanto CEO

Monsanto: Pay your fair share

I urge you to keep Monsanto's legal headquarters based in the U.S., and halt any plans to move to Switzerland to dodge taxes.

Why is this important?

In a move that would allow it to relocate its headquarters out of the country, agribusiness giant Monsanto is considering a plan to buy Syngenta, a Swiss agrochemical company. (1)

If Monsanto does indeed renounce their status as a U.S. based company, it will mean they will be taxed at a much lower rate than American-based companies in a scheme that is referred to as a corporate "inversion." The crazy thing is, they don't actually have to move their CEO or any of their central offices. They can just claim on paper to be headquartered in Switzerland, much in the way that Burger King is now, on paper, a Canadian company.

It would also allow Monsanto to permanently avoid paying taxes on the $4.4 billion of profits it has reported as holding offshore. According to the Center for Effective Government, "Monsanto could owe as much as $1.5 billion in U.S. taxes on these offshore profits, an amount that could be permanently avoided if the new company engages in complex legal and tax transactions following an inversion." (2)

We can't let big corporations continue to dodge taxes -- everyone should play by the same rules. How can we invest in education or job growth if large, profitable companies are scheming to avoid paying their fair share?

1. http://goo.gl/eEMZqV
2. http://goo.gl/BjGSaq