Treasury issues new rules to limit tax inversions

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration is issuing new rules aimed at reducing the tax benefits available to companies that move their tax addresses overseas.

But Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew says there is only so much the administration can do and called on Congress to pass legislation to stop the maneuvers, known as tax inversions.

The new Treasury rules would make it harder for a U.S. company to qualify for a tax inversion. But they don't address a key area known as "earnings stripping," a process by which companies increase deductions for their U.S. operations as a way to move profits to low-tax countries.

The new Treasury rules come as two large drug companies, Pfizer Inc. and Allergan PLC, are considering a merger that could be structured as an inversion.