Perrigo appeals €1.6bn Revenue tax demand

Pharma company Perrigo is understood to have filed an an appeal against a €1.64 billion Irish tax demand.

The share price of group had fallen by more than 5 per cent by lunchtime trading in New York on Thursday, a day ahead of the deadline for it to appeal.

Perrigo declined to officially confirm last night that it had filed the appeal by Friday’s cut-off. It is understood, however, to have already filed documents to contest the assessment made by the Revenue Commissioners.

A company spokesman also referred to a December 20th statement by Perrigo to its shareholders, in which it said it "will timely file an appeal" with the Irish Tax Appeals Commission.

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Perrigo shares rise as deadline for appealing €1.6bn Irish tax bill nears

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Revenue's November 28th assessment on the pharma company sought back taxes relating to the sale in 2013 of rights to the company's blockbuster multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri.

This had followed its acquisition of Athlone Elan, which developed the drug. Perrigo re-domiciled to Ireland for tax purposes after buying Elan.

After The Irish Times broke news of the tax demand last week, US-Israeli company Perrigo issued its statement to shareholders, precipitating a 30 per cent drop in its value in one day in Tel Aviv, where it is also listed.

In its statement, Perrigo defended its tax return relating to Elan and Tysabri, which it said was “consistent with Elan Pharma’s activities for two decades relating to the active management of intellectual property rights”.