Pfizer is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, with a significant presence in Ireland. However, a forensic accounting analysis of Pfizer’s Irish subsidiaries raises serious concerns about transparency, corporate accountability, and democratic oversight. With multiple unlimited companies (ULCs) that do not publish any public financial accounts in its complex Irish corporate structure, Pfizer effectively shields critical financial information from public (and academic) scrutiny. This lack of transparency means Ireland has no idea how to prepare for Trump’s tariff war.
The Problem with Corporate Secrecy
Most of Pfizer’s 20+ Irish subsidiaries, including Pfizer Global Trading Unlimited, Pfizer Export Company Unlimited Company, Pfizer Ireland Pharmaceuticals Unlimited Company, and Pfizer Manufacturing Services Unlimited Company, operate as unlimited companies (ULCs). They are not legally required to publicly publish their financial accounts, allowing Pfizer to keep details of revenue, profits, tax payments, and financial transfers hidden from the public. All we can see are the consolidated accounts of the parent company—Pfizer Ltd—in the U.S.
This is their consolidated 10k financial accounts for the past 30 years. Note that they paid no federal U.S. income tax in 2023 – the last year of filing.
Pfizer’s key Irish subsidiaries are owned by a holding group in the Netherlands – C.P. Pharmaceuticals International C.V, which is the legal entity that holds hundreds more Pfizer companies. There is no publicly available financial information on this Dutch holding group. But it is the critical legal entity within Pfizer’s global empire that includes thousands of subsidiary firms and corporations across multiple jurisdictions.
Consider the Irish corporate subsidiaries within this business empire as the key hub of Pfizer’s global tax-avoiding wealth chain.
The cost of secrecy
The lack of transparency around this Irish structure raises several key concerns for Ireland and the U.S, particularly in light of Trumps tax and tariff wars.
First, everyone knows that Ireland is a profit-shifting hub for U.S. multinationals, but Pfizer’s high-level of secrecy makes it extremely difficult to assess how much tax it actually pays, and where. This is the case for all U.S. pharmaceutical groups in Ireland.
Thomas Hubert at The Currency has shown that Pfizer is one of Ireland’s three largest taxpayers. But without transparency, we cannot determine how much tax Pfizer truly pays in Ireland versus how much it avoids paying elsewhere – particularly in the U.S. This secrecy underpins the idea of a “rigged system” and fuels the anti-establishment politics of the MAGA movement.
Second, Pfizer’s influence on public health policy, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, makes financial transparency more critical than ever. Governments purchase Pfizer’s products with public funds, yet there is no public oversight of how much profit the corporate group books in Ireland versus how much it repatriates abroad.
This financial opacity fuels populist conspiracies about the pharmaceutical sector in shaping public policy decisions – such as those espoused by the present U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Third, Ireland has long been accused of facilitating corporate tax avoidance, enabling big-tech and big-pharma U.S. multinational groups to shift profits from higher-tax jurisdictions. Pfizer’s extensive use of Irish subsidiaries suggests that a significant portion of its global earnings are routed through Ireland to minimise tax liabilities elsewhere, particularly in the U.S.
This is not unique to Pfizer. All big US pharmaceutical groups in Ireland do it. They sell into the US market – where they make the vast majority of their revenue – and book the profits in Ireland.
This practice not only deprives the U.S. government of tax revenue but also fuels the concentration of corporate wealth among the super-rich, reinforcing economic inequality. In the long term, this erodes public trust in democratic institutions – fuelling the very populist backlash that propelled Trump to power.
New U.S. Tariffs on Irish Pharma Exports
Trump’s proposed tariffs on pharmaceutical exports from Ireland could have severe consequences, given that the U.S. is the primary market for U.S. pharma groups selling out of Ireland. According to the latest CSO figures, pharma exports out of Ireland account for a staggering €100 billion.
These tariffs could clearly disrupt the Irish operations of U.S. pharma groups, threaten jobs, and force these company to rethink their financial strategies.
However, without financial transparency on their true Irish operations, it is almost impossible to predict the full economic consequences. If U.S. pharma groups are using Ireland primarily as a tax-minimising hub, these tariffs may end up exposing the extent to which profits are being booked in Ireland.
But from a U.S. self-interested perspective, it is not surprising that some academics have described the outcome as “U.S. last policy”.
Demanding Corporate Transparency
The issue of corporate transparency, particularly within multi-jurisdictional corporate groups, has been a longstanding topic of debate among academics and policymakers. This debate was evident during the OECD’s global tax governance reform process, where, ultimately, business interests prevailed.
Any government that is committed to safeguarding liberal democracy against corporate influence must enforce transparency and accountability.
- Mandatory Public Financial Disclosure for ULCs: It should be a legal requirement for multi-jurisdictional corporate groups to publicly publish the financial statements of all their subsidiaries in Ireland.
- Stronger Tax Reporting Standards: Public country-by-country tax reporting should be enforced to ensure that multinationals like Pfizer disclose where exactly they generate profits and where they pay taxes.
- Strategic Responses to U.S. Trade Policy: Irish policymakers must assess how new tariffs on pharmaceutical exports will affect economic stability and corporate investment in the country. Greater transparency from companies like Pfizer is crucial to developing effective responses.
Conclusion
Pfizer’s extensive use of unlimited companies that do not disclose any public financial information is not just a technical accounting issue—it fundamentally undermines democracy. When corporations can hide their financial dealings from public scrutiny, it weakens democratic oversight, fuels wealth concentration, and skews economic policymaking in favour of corporate interests. All of this feeds the anti-establishment backlash that we are witnessing in the U.S. at the moment. Additionally, with impending U.S. tariffs on Irish pharmaceutical exports, the risks associated with financial secrecy are even more pressing. Without public access to comprehensive financial data, the Irish government remains completely in the dark about how these global economic shifts will truly impact Ireland’s economy.
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