Indian pharma pads up to fight Republican border tax

Experts claim border adjustment tax would hurt profits, increase healthcare costs

After the swearing in of the 45th US President Donal Trump on Friday, fears of the border adjustment tax (BAT) — proposed by the Republican Party — has again raised its head for Indian pharmaceutical companies.

Republican senators propose to slap a BAT as a tax reform. Under the proposal, US companies would not be taxed for profits from exports. But, manufacturing costs incurred overseas would not be deductible while calculating taxes. Simply put, there would be a tax on imports.

Indian generic drug makers said this would hurt their profitability — but also make healthcare costs higher for US