Clinton offers new 'exit tax' on US-foreign company mergers

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hillary Clinton on Wednesday will unveil a proposal for a new "exit tax" aimed at cracking down on corporate inversions, a practice that permits U.S. companies to merge with corporations overseas to lower their tax bill.

The Democratic presidential front-runner will propose spending the revenue raised by the new tax to boost manufacturing jobs in the U.S., campaign aides said.

The November announcement of a plan to merge drug-makers Pfizer and Allergan to create the world's biggest pharmaceutical company reignited a fierce political debate over whether such deals should be permitted.

Democrats favor immediate action and are seeking to use the issue as a political wedge ahead of next year's presidential election, accusing the GOP of protecting corporate loopholes.

Clinton's main rival for the Democratic nomination, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, introduced legislation in April that would continue to tax companies involved with inversion deals as American corporations as long as they remain U.S.-majority owned.