Dear 5849376, Walgreens was founded in Chicago and has grown into America's largest pharmacy chain, but the Financial Times recently reported that the company is considering a change of corporate address from Illinois to Switzerland. The majority of the company's $72 billion in sales last year were made in the United States and nearly a quarter of them came from taxpayer funded programs like Medicare and Medicaid -- so don't expect your local store to move anytime soon. Instead, Walgreens is using a fancy gimmick called "tax inversion" that would allow it to continue cashing in on U.S. profits, while dodging an estimated $4 billion in taxes over the next five years. It's just one of a number of tricks wealthy corporations are using to stash cash and profits overseas to avoid paying their fair share of taxes. We have to speak out now to stop it. That's why I started my own campaign on CREDOMobilize.com, which allows activists to start their own petitions. My petition, which is to Walgreens President and CEO Gregory Wasson, says the following: Corporate tax dodging gimmicks like "tax inversion" cost our government billions of dollars in lost revenue every year, jeopardizing funds for vital services and leaving individual taxpayers to make up the difference. We urge you to keep Walgreens in America and pay your fair share of corporate taxes to keep our communities happy and healthy. Tell Walgreens President and CEO Gregory Wasson: Don't dodge corporate taxes. Dodging taxes through gimmicks like the one Walgreens is considering has a real cost for our communities. According to a recent study from Americans for Tax Fairness, $4 billion is enough to pay for one-and-a-half years of prescriptions for the entire U.S. veterans population, cover 3.5 million children under the Children's Health Insurance Program (also known as CHIP), or provide Medicaid to over 639,000 people. That last figure really hits home with me. If it weren't for Medicaid a costly medical emergency last year would have left me more than $11,000 in debt. But corporate tax dodging endangers funding for vital programs that help working class Americans like me, just to line the pockets of corporate shareholders and CEOs. That's why I'm working with other local activists in Chicago to hold big corporations accountable to our community. In June, we gathered outside Walgreens' flagship store in downtown Chicago to demand that Walgreens support the communities that have helped it prosper. Our recent action generated significant media coverage, but we need to keep the momentum going and make sure Walgreens knows we're not going to back down. The company relies on sales to U.S. customers, so by signing my petition you can build real pressure on Walgreens not to dodge taxes and to do right by our communities. Will you join me and add your name to my petition urging Walgreens to remain based in the United States and pay its fair share of taxes? Thank you for your support. Eugene Yong Lim | 
