How new tax inversion rules could change U.S. companies

The U.S. Treasury Department announced new rules last week designed to make tax inversion deals less attractive to American companies.

U.S. companies use tax inversions to move their headquarters to countries with lower taxes.

From The Wall Street Journal:

In June medical-device maker Medtronic agreed to acquire Dublin-based Covidien PLC for $42.9 billion and become an Irish company. Medtronic included a caveat that would allow the Minneapolis-based company to walk away from its deal without paying an $850 million breakup fee if tax rules tightened. The current change from Washington isn't enough for Medtronic to exit the deal without paying the breakup fee, said a person familiar with the deal.

Medtronic has said the company is "studying Treasury's actions."

On The Daily Circuit, we discuss the latest tax rules and what it means for major companies like Medtronic.