It seems Pfizer is quite adept at rent seeking. First, they lobbied the City of New London to condemn Suzette Kelo’s home. Then, after years of litigation, they left the land in ruin. Now, Pfizer is looking to acquire AstraZeneca, a British drug maker. This would make Pfizer a British company, and reduce its tax liability. It’s called an inversion:

In New York, investment bankers and lawyers are urging clients to act quickly if they are serious about such a move, knowing that rules could change soon. In Washington, lawmakers have started to examine what legislation could be drafted to stop the outflow of tax dollars.

Senator Carl Levin, Democrat of Michigan, on Thursday became the latest lawmaker to call for an end to so-called inversions, the deals through which United States companies acquire an overseas competitor and reincorporate abroad. He said he planned to introduce a bill to curb the practice. That could happen as early as next week, according to people briefed on the matter.

“It’s become increasingly clear that a loophole in our tax laws allowing these inversions threatens to devastate federal tax receipts,” he said in a statement. “We have to close that loophole.”

And I wonder who created that loophole. From New London to, well, London.