Corporate inversions are transactions, such as mergers or acquisitions, that involve a U.S. and foreign headquartered firm and result in the newly formed firm being headquartered outside the U.S. As a result, it can legally lower its U.S. taxes and enjoy parity with its foreign based competitors. Noting the resulting erosion to the U.S. tax base, critics argue that absent Congressional action the U.S. Treasury has a responsibility to fully utilize its existing authorities to combat this practice. But others are concerned that attempting to do so without addressing the underlying problems with the U.S. tax code will create even greater harm to the U.S. economy. Stephen Shay, Senior Lecturer on Law at the Harvard Law School and until recently the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Tax Affairs and Mihir Desai, who holds appointments at both the Harvard Business School and Law School, provided perspectives from legal and economic vantage points.
Mihir Desai's academic publications have appeared in leading economics, finance, and law journals. His work has emphasized the appropriate design of tax policy in a globalized setting, the links between corporate governance and taxation, and the internal capital markets of multinational firms. His research has been cited in The Economist, BusinessWeek, The New York Times, and several other publications.