Global pharmaceutical company, AstraZeneca, has announced that its plans to open a new facility in northwest England have now changed, due to the “discouraging” corporation tax increase. Now opening in Ireland, the company will avoid the increase from 19% to 25%, which is set for April. Initially, AstraZeneca’s chief executive officer, Sir Pascal Soriot, said that the company had planned to build the facility close to its other sites in the North West of England, however the increasing corporation tax led the company to adapt their plans, with Ireland looking more promising. The decision to leave the UK will likely hinder the UK Government’s aim to become a life sciences “superpower”, according to Soriot, who added: “You need an environment that gives you good returns and incentive to invest.”
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