WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, and Ron Wyden (D-OR), Chairman of the Committee, led a group of their colleagues in urging the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to challenge any abusive tax deductions that opioid companies may take for settlements that they are paying out related to their role in fueling the opioid epidemic.

The Senators’ letter follows recent reporting indicating that, after being sued by state or local governments for harmful practices, opioid companies are planning to manipulate the tax code in order to claim billions of dollars in tax benefits. The Senators are calling on the IRS to use the full extent of its authority under recent regulations to challenge these tax schemes. “We strongly encourage the IRS to fully enforce the tax code by challenging any erroneous interpretations of these recent regulations that opioid companies may use in an attempt to claim tax deductions for legal settlement expenses,” wrote the Senators.

In addition to Senators Hassan and Wyden, the letter was signed by Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Angus King (I-ME), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Mark Warner (D-VA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Bob Menendez (D-NJ).

The letter is part of Senator Hassan’s ongoing efforts to hold opioid companies accountable for their role in fueling the opioid epidemic. Senators Hassan and Whitehouse have led efforts to push the Department of Justice to hold opioid maker Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sackler family, accountable in settlement negotiations as the company goes through federal bankruptcy. Senator Hassan previously confronted top Janssen Pharmaceuticals executive Jennifer Taubert for her company’s role in helping fuel the opioid crisis during a Senate Finance Committee hearing.

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