From an unassuming building at the Parkmore East business park in Ballybrit, Co Galway, and an even less remarkable suburban office suite in Malta, the rapid testing division of the US-listed pharmaceutical giant Abbott Laboratories grew the profits it squeezes through the double malt tax loophole to nearly €1 billion last year. Thanks to the corporate structure detailed by The Currency earlier this year, the business that emerged from Abbott’s acquisition of Alere five years ago and benefited from the booming demand for Covid-19 antigen tests during the pandemic reduced the effective tax rate on the rising profits from this…

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