Medtronic and Inversion

Some things are just infuriating.  For example, reading "Medtronic Avoids U.S. Taxes While Saddling Shareholders With a Hefty Tax Bill," by Rakesh Sharma on Philly.com on 1/28/15.  The article starts with this:

Medtronic's $49.9 billion acquisition of Dublin-based Covidien -- the largest tax inversion deal ever -- will leave shareholders with a big tax bill, while allowing the Minnesota-based company to pay little or no U.S. taxes.

To make pour salt in the wound, note this:

The Medtronic acquisition saddles shareholders with a capital gains tax accrued as part of the transaction. Under IRS rules, this is typical for inversion deals in which the acquiring company holds 50% or more of the shares of the acquired company. Medtronic reimbursed $63 million to senior executives last year to offset their tax liability as a result of the merger. However, individual shareholders did not receive the same courtesy.

Just truly annoying.