Durbin calls out agriculture giant

Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) urged the agriculture giant Monsanto to scrap any plans to move its headquarters overseas for tax purposes.

Durbin, one of the most strident Democratic critics of the offshore tax deals known as inversions, said that Monsanto would be skipping abroad even while continuing to rely on American programs and support. Under inversion deals, companies often keep much of their operations based in the U.S.

{mosads}“Like so many large companies in the U.S., Monsanto has prospered in large part due to U.S. taxpayer-funded programs and services,” Durbin said in a statement.  “Where would Monsanto be without the U.S. farm program and our world class research labs?”

Durbin and other Democrats have pushed to make it harder for companies to lower their U.S. tax bill by moving abroad, and for those companies to obtain contracts with the federal government. Democrats have also questioned why companies like Ingersoll Rand, which left the U.S. almost 15 years ago, continue to get contracts.

Monsanto has sought to merge with Syngenta, a Switzerland-based rival.