<SEC-DOCUMENT>0001214659-25-006301.txt : 20250424
<SEC-HEADER>0001214659-25-006301.hdr.sgml : 20250424
<ACCEPTANCE-DATETIME>20250423190853
ACCESSION NUMBER:		0001214659-25-006301
CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE:	PX14A6G
PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT:		1
FILED AS OF DATE:		20250424
DATE AS OF CHANGE:		20250423
EFFECTIVENESS DATE:		20250424

SUBJECT COMPANY:	

	COMPANY DATA:	
		COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:			Merck & Co., Inc.
		CENTRAL INDEX KEY:			0000310158
		STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION:	PHARMACEUTICAL PREPARATIONS [2834]
		ORGANIZATION NAME:           	03 Life Sciences
		EIN:				221918501
		STATE OF INCORPORATION:			NJ
		FISCAL YEAR END:			1231

	FILING VALUES:
		FORM TYPE:		PX14A6G
		SEC ACT:		1934 Act
		SEC FILE NUMBER:	001-06571
		FILM NUMBER:		25863060

	BUSINESS ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		126 EAST LINCOLN AVENUE
		STREET 2:		P.O. BOX 2000
		CITY:			RAHWAY
		STATE:			NJ
		ZIP:			07065
		BUSINESS PHONE:		908-740-4000

	MAIL ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		126 EAST LINCOLN AVENUE
		STREET 2:		P.O. BOX 2000
		CITY:			RAHWAY
		STATE:			NJ
		ZIP:			07065

	FORMER COMPANY:	
		FORMER CONFORMED NAME:	Merck & Co. Inc.
		DATE OF NAME CHANGE:	20091103

	FORMER COMPANY:	
		FORMER CONFORMED NAME:	SCHERING PLOUGH CORP
		DATE OF NAME CHANGE:	19920703

FILED BY:		

	COMPANY DATA:	
		COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:			Intercommunity Peace & Justice Center
		CENTRAL INDEX KEY:			0001749378
		ORGANIZATION NAME:           	
		EIN:				943083964
		STATE OF INCORPORATION:			WA
		FISCAL YEAR END:			0630

	FILING VALUES:
		FORM TYPE:		PX14A6G

	BUSINESS ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		1216 NE 65TH ST
		CITY:			SEATTLE
		STATE:			WA
		ZIP:			98115
		BUSINESS PHONE:		2062231138

	MAIL ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		1216 NE 65TH ST
		CITY:			SEATTLE
		STATE:			WA
		ZIP:			98115
</SEC-HEADER>
<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>PX14A6G
<SEQUENCE>1
<FILENAME>p423257px14a6g.htm
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<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><B>Notice of Exempt Solicitation Pursuant to Rule 14a-103</B>&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><B>Name of Registrant</B>: Merck &amp; Co., Inc. (MRK)</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><B>Name of Person Relying on Exemption</B>: Sisters of the Holy Name
of Jesus and Mary, US-Ontario Province and PenSam</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><B>Address of Person Relying on Exemption</B>:&nbsp;Intercommunity
Peace &amp; Justice Center, Northwest Coalition for Responsible Investment, 1216 NE 65th St, Seattle, Washington, 98115</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">Written materials are submitted pursuant to Rule 14a-6(g)(1) promulgated
under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Submission is not required of this filer under the terms of the Rule but is made voluntarily
in the interest of public disclosure and consideration of these important issues.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><B>This is not a solicitation of authority to vote your proxy.&nbsp;</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><B>Please DO NOT send us your proxy card; the shareholder is not able
to vote your proxies, nor does this communication contemplate such an event.</B>&nbsp;<BR>
<BR>
The shareholder asks all shareholders to vote by following the procedural instructions provided in the proxy materials.&nbsp;&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">Dear Merck Shareholders:&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><B>The Sisters of the Holy Name of Jesus and Mary, US-Ontario Province
and PenSam, urge you to vote FOR Proposal 5, which requests a tax transparency report, at Merck&rsquo;s annual meeting of shareholders
on May 27, 2025.</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">The proposal asks Merck to issue a tax transparency report based on
the Global Reporting Initiative&rsquo;s Tax Standard.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0 0pt 0.5in">RESOLVED: Shareholders of Merck request that the Board of
Directors issue a tax transparency report to shareholders, at reasonable expense and excluding confidential information, prepared in
consideration of the indicators and guidelines set forth in the Global Reporting Initiative&rsquo;s (GRI) Tax Standard.&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">The proposal is part of an ongoing investor campaign for greater corporate
tax transparency disclosure.<SUP>1</SUP> Tax transparency is in the best interest of Merck shareholders, as the amount of taxes paid is
material to a company&rsquo;s long-term sustainability, and exposure of aggressive tax practices can lead to legal, regulatory and reputational
risks. Without a system of public country-by-country reporting (CbCR) tax transparency, shareholders are left in the dark as to potential
risks to Merck&rsquo;s reputation and shareholder value.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">_____________________________</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><SUP>1</SUP> &ldquo;Investors with More than $2.3 Trillion in Assets
Demand SEC Rulemaking to Require Greater Multinational Tax Transparency,&rdquo; <U>FACT Coalition</U>, July 31, 2024, at: https://thefactcoalition.org/investors-with-more-than-2-3-trillion-in-assets-demand-sec-rulemaking-to-require-greater-multinational-tax-transparency/;
&ldquo;Big Oil Tax Dodging, Transparency and Standards,&rdquo; <U>As You Sow</U>, March 23, 2023, at: https://www.proxypreview.org/contributor-articles-2023/big-oil-tax-dodging-transparency-and-standards.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"></P>

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<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">Merck should commit to corporate tax responsibility by providing CbCR
tax transparency report to shareholders. In this letter, we will show support for this proposal is warranted because:</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in">1.</TD><TD>Reputation is an important component of Merck shareholder value;</TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in">2.</TD><TD>Aggressive tax practices present unknown risks;</TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in">3.</TD><TD>Merck&rsquo;s current tax disclosure reporting is insufficient;</TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in">4.</TD><TD>GRI Tax Reporting allows shareholders assess tax risk;</TD></TR></TABLE>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"></P>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in">5.</TD><TD>Global tax reforms mandating public CbCR tax reporting are being implemented by countries around the world; and</TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in">6.</TD><TD>Merck could easily provide details of its taxes paid in an annual report to shareowners.</TD></TR></TABLE>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><B>1.</B></TD><TD><B>Corporate Reputation Is an Important Component of Merck Shareholder Value </B></TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.5in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">Merck&rsquo;s failure to provide robust and complete disclosure of its tax
payments exposes it to potential reputational damage. </FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.5in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">According to Newsweek&rsquo;s &ldquo;America&rsquo;s Most Responsible Companies
2025&rdquo; report, Merck ranked 1st of 600 US companies, as America&rsquo;s Most Responsible Company for the second year in a row. And
Merck also ranked No. 1 in its industry on CNBC and JUST Capital&rsquo;s list of America&rsquo;s Most JUST Companies and Barron&rsquo;s
list of the 100 Most Sustainable U.S. Companies.<SUP>2</SUP></FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.5in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">The 2024 Reputation Value Report estimates that &ldquo;in both the S&amp;P
500 and FTSE 350, more than 25% of market value is now attributed to corporate reputation.&rdquo;<SUP>3</SUP> The Ipsos Global Reputation
Centre research across 31 countries shows conclusive proof of the relationship between a good reputation and better business efficiency.<SUP>4</SUP></FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.5in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">According to a Deloitte survey, 87 percent of executives rated reputation
risk as more important or much more important than other strategic risks their companies are facing, and 88 percent said their companies
are explicitly focusing on managing reputation risk.<SUP>5</SUP></FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.5in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">Clearly, corporate reputation has a significant impact on shareholder value.</FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">_____________________________</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><SUP>2</SUP> &ldquo;Merck Earns Top Spot on Newsweek&rsquo;s List of
America&rsquo;s Most Responsible Companies 2025,&rdquo; <U>Merck</U>, Dec. 5, 2024, at: https://www.merck.com/news/merck-earns-top-spot-on-newsweeks-list-of-americas-most-responsible-companies-2025/.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><SUP>3</SUP> &ldquo;$11.9 trillion in S&amp;P 500 firms attributed
to reputation,&rdquo; <U>Echo Research</U>, Oct. 15, 2024, at: https://www.echoresearch.com/news-events/119-trillion-in-sp-500-firms-attributed-to-reputation/.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt"><SUP>4</SUP></FONT> &ldquo;<FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">Unlocking
the Value of Reputation,&rdquo; <U>Ipsos</U>, May 2018, at: https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/publication/documents/2018-05/unlocking_value_of_reputation-may_2018.pdf</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><SUP>5</SUP> &ldquo;2014 Global Survey on Reputation Risk,&rdquo; <U>Deloitte</U>,
p. 4, at: https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/Governance-Risk-Compliance/gx_grc_Reputation@Risk%20survey%20report_FINAL.pdf</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"></P>

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<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"></P>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; background-color: white"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><B>2.</B></TD><TD><B>Merck&rsquo;s Aggressive Tax Practices Present Unknown Risks</B></TD></TR></TABLE>
<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"></P>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; background-color: white"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">Shareholders, companies, governments and civil society are increasingly recognizing
that a company&rsquo;s tax practices can be financially material.<SUP>6</SUP></FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; background-color: white"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">Investor risks include heightened attention of tax authorities and adjustment
risk following a successful investigation by tax authorities of whether a company&rsquo;s tax planning complies with the law. </FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; background-color: white"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">And companies are vulnerable to changes in tax laws and regulations. These
risks are particularly material for pharmaceutical companies like Merck. According to a UBS analyst, changing tax policies could add 3%
to 5% to pharma companies&rsquo; tax rates and lead to a 5% drop in valuation.<SUP>7</SUP></FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><B>Merck Faces Attention from Tax Authorities</B></P>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">Merck has a balance of more than $2.25 billion in unrecognized tax benefits,
indicating a high level of tax risk.<SUP>8</SUP> This means Merck has set aside $2.25 billion where tax authorities may have a reasonable
basis to disallow the position.</FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">A U.S. Senate Finance Committee investigation into pharmaceutical companies&rsquo;
ability &ldquo;to exploit foreign subsidiaries to avoid paying taxes on U.S. prescription drug sales&rdquo; has included Merck.</FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.75in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in">o</TD><TD>In 2022, then-chair Senator Ron Wyden sent a letter to Merck,<SUP>9</SUP> noting that &ldquo;there appears to be a substantial discrepancy
between where Merck generates prescription drug sales and where Merck books profits from those drug sales for tax purposes,&rdquo; and
that &ldquo;Merck paid an effective tax rate of just 11% in 2021, approximately half the U.S. corporate tax rate of 21%.&rdquo;</TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.75in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in">o</TD><TD>Senator Wyden specifically requested country-by-country information related to Merck&rsquo;s pre-tax earnings, profit margins, employee
headcount, and tax paid for relevant tax years. Initially, Merck refused to provide the requested information, but two subsequent Senate
Finance Committee reports highlighted how Merck used a controversial round-tripping structure to ensure that all of the profits from U.S.
sales of its blockbuster life-saving cancer drug Keytruda would be taxed at substantially reduced tax rate for foreign income.<SUP>10</SUP></TD></TR></TABLE>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">_____________________________</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><SUP>6</SUP> &nbsp;&ldquo;A Material Concern: The Investor Case for
Public Country-by-Country Tax Reporting,&rdquo; <U>FACT Coalition</U> (2022), at: https://thefactcoalition.org/report/a-material-concern-the-investor-case-for-public-country-by-country-tax-reporting.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><SUP>7</SUP> &ldquo;Trump Tariff Talk Puts Pharma Overseas Profits
in Crosshairs,&rdquo; <U>Bloomberg Tax</U> (2025), at: https://news.bloombergtax.com/daily-tax-report/trump-tariff-talk-puts-pharma-overseas-profits-in-crosshairs.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><SUP>8</SUP> &nbsp;&ldquo;Annual Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 For the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2024, Note 15,&rdquo; Merck &amp; Co., Inc. (2025), at:&nbsp;https://www.merck.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/124/2025/02/0001628280-25-007732.pdf.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><SUP>9</SUP> &ldquo;Senate Finance Committee Chair Wyden Letter to
Merck,&rdquo; July 27, 2022</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">at: https://www.finance.senate.gov/download/wyden-to-merck.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><SUP>10</SUP> &ldquo;American Patients, American Companies, Offshore
Profits,&rdquo; <U>Senate Finance Committee Democratic Staff Memorandum</U>, May 11 2023, at: https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/pharma_public_release_final_51123.pdf;
&ldquo;Pfizer&rsquo;s Colossal Tax Avoidance: How Pfizer Used &ldquo;Round Tripping&rdquo; Scheme to Avoid Billions in Taxes</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">on U.S. Drug Sales,&rdquo; <U>Democratic Staff Investigation</U>, March
2025, at: https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/wyden_pfizer_investigation_report_final_march_2025pdf.pdf.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"></P>

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<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">In addition to policymakers, independent experts have also highlighted that
in 2023 and 2024, Merck and other pharma companies have not paid any U.S. taxes, even though the U.S. is their largest market by sales.<SUP>11</SUP>&nbsp;</FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">The IRS has challenged other pharmaceutical companies with similar international
business structures to Merck, including an ongoing $10.7 billion dispute with Amgen over alleged profit shifting to Puerto Rico.<SUP>12</SUP>
Merck&rsquo;s large volume of reported US sales yet low reported US profits and even losses raise the question whether Merck is at risk
of similar challenges. Public CbCR tax transparency would allow investors to better understand these risks.</FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><B>Merck Faces Risk from Changes in Tax Regulation, Shareholders Face
Blind Spot</B></P>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">Companies face potential significant increases in tax liability due to proposed
and adopted global taxation reforms. In 2021, 137 countries agreed to a two-pillar tax reform framework drafted by the OECD, hailed as
the biggest changes to corporate taxation in a century.<SUP>13</SUP> The agreement is partially or fully implemented in at least 50 countries.<SUP>14</SUP></FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">The global minimum tax created a 15% minimum effective corporate tax that
applies on a country-by-country basis, ensuring that multinationals pay this amount regardless of whether their headquarters jurisdiction
domestically implements the minimum tax. </FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">In its most recent annual filing, Merck acknowledges that &ldquo;many jurisdictions
in which Merck operates have adopted the global minimum tax&rdquo; and that &ldquo;The Company expects the impact of the global minimum
tax will increase its effective income tax rate by approximately 2% in 2025.&rdquo; </FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">Merck shareholders face a blind spot without public CbCR tax transparency
to evaluate the tax risk posed by the global minimum tax to Merck&rsquo;s financial performance. </FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">In addition to the OECD global tax reforms, members of the United Nations
(UN) are currently negotiating a framework convention on international tax cooperation, another potential significant change to global
corporate taxation.<SUP>15</SUP> Shareholders need access to tax information on a country-by-country basis in order to be better informed
whether there are additional tax risks associated with these international reform efforts.&nbsp;</FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">_____________________________</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><SUP>11</SUP> &ldquo;American Pharmaceutical Companies Still Aren&rsquo;t
Paying Tax in the U.S.,&rdquo; Council on Foreign Relations, March 14, 2025, at: https://www.cfr.org/blog/american-pharmaceutical-companies-still-arent-paying-tax-us;
&ldquo;American Pharmaceutical Companies Aren&rsquo;t Paying Any Tax in the United States,&rdquo; Council on Foreign Relations, July 22,
2024, at: https://www.cfr.org/blog/american-pharmaceutical-companies-arent-paying-any-tax-united-states.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><SUP>12</SUP> &ldquo;Amgen, Coke Set Aside Only Fraction of Billions
They May Owe IRS,&rdquo; <U>Bloomberg Tax</U> (2024), at: https://news.bloombergtax.com/daily-tax-report-international/amgen-coke-set-aside-only-fraction-of-billions-they-may-owe-irs.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><SUP>13</SUP> &ldquo;OECD close to final global deal on corporate tax,&rdquo;
<U>Financial Times</U>, Oct. 8, 2021, at: https://www.ft.com/content/3e3e6a7d-67d5-437d-a7b2-29c52ce9c78f.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><SUP>14</SUP> &nbsp;&ldquo;PWC&rsquo;s Pillar Two Country Tracker,&rdquo;
<U>PWC</U>, March 31, 2025, at: https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/tax/international-tax-planning/pillar-two/pwc-pillar-two-country-tracker-summary-v2.pdf.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><SUP>15</SUP> Eileen Travers, &ldquo;Why the world needs a UN global
tax convention,&rdquo; <U>UN News</U>, Aug. 16, 2024, at: https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/08/1153301.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"></P>

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<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">In the U.S., tax policy experts have called on Congress to close a loophole
known as &ldquo;roundtripping,&rdquo; which allows multinational corporations to take advantage of international tax laws to limit their
tax burden.<SUP>16</SUP> The proposal was included as one of five bipartisan free-market reforms to reduce the national debt.<SUP>17</SUP>
Given Merck&rsquo;s substantial reliance on sales of foreign-produced drugs to U.S. customers, such reforms could have a significant impact
on our company&rsquo;s after-tax profits. Merck&rsquo;s current tax disclosures are inadequate for shareholders to assess the magnitude
of the risks associated with closing round-tripping or similar reforms.</FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0 0pt 0.5in">&nbsp;</P>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; background-color: white"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><B>3.</B></TD><TD><B>Merck&rsquo;s Current Tax Disclosure Reporting Is Insufficient</B></TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">Merck does not currently disclose sufficient information to allow shareholders
to make an informed and independent assessment of its tax practices and any potential risks. </FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"></P>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">In its annual 10-K report, Merck reports its US and aggregate foreign tax
payments but does not provide a breakdown of its foreign tax payments by jurisdiction, only providing a lump sum.<SUP>18</SUP></FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"></P>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">While Merck is legally required to provide similar tax-related disclosures
in certain other jurisdictions, without information on profits and losses in a jurisdiction, shareholders cannot determine whether the
amount of taxes paid aligns with economic activity. Merck does not even disclose its taxes paid at the country level for many of the jurisdictions
where it operates.</FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"></P>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">Merck&rsquo;s Global Tax Strategy is also insufficient to understand country
level tax planning. The strategy states that Merck &ldquo;only engage(s) in tax planning that is aligned with our commercial business
activities and reputation,&rdquo; and states the company&rsquo;s commitment to &ldquo;the arm&rsquo;s length standard in transfer pricing
and OECD guidelines for international tax matters.&rdquo;<SUP>19</SUP></FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"></P>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">The strategy otherwise provides little insight into Merck&rsquo;s approach
to tax planning. Shareholders need the quantitative data provided by country-by-country reporting &ndash; which Merck currently does not
report &ndash; to be able to assess whether Merck&rsquo;s tax practices comply with its tax strategy.</FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">_____________________________</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><SUP>16</SUP> George Callas, &ldquo;To Bring Manufacturing Back to
America, Close the Round-Tripping Loophole,&rdquo; <U>Arnold Ventures</U>, March 18, 2025, at: https://www.arnoldventures.org/stories/to-bring-manufacturing-back-to-america-close-the-round-tripping-loophole</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><SUP>17</SUP> Victoria Ludwin, &ldquo;Bipartisan Free-Market Reforms
to Reduce the National Debt,&rdquo; <U>Arnold Ventures</U>,&nbsp;Nov. 29, 2023, at: https://www.arnoldventures.org/stories/bipartisan-free-market-reforms-to-reduce-the-national-debt.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><SUP>18</SUP> &ldquo;Form 10-K, Note 15, Taxes on Income,&rdquo; <U>Merck
&amp; Co., Inc.</U> (2025), at: https://www.merck.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/124/2025/02/0001628280-25-007732.pdf.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><SUP>19</SUP> &ldquo;Global Tax Strategy,&rdquo; <U>Merck &amp; Co.,
Inc.</U> (2023), at: https://www.merck.com/docs/media/Global-Tax-Strategy_MRK_DEC23.pdf.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"></P>

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<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"></P>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><B>4.</B></TD><TD><B>GRI Tax Reporting Allows Shareholders to Assess Tax Risk</B></TD></TR></TABLE>
<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"></P>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">The recognition that tax practices can pose financially material risks to
shareholders helped lead to the creation of GRI Standard 207 on Tax. The GRI Standards are the world&rsquo;s most utilized corporate reporting
standards, and the GRI Tax Standard is the first comprehensive, global standard for public tax disclosure.<SUP>20</SUP> The Tax Standard
requires four components:</FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"></P>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.5in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in">1.</TD><TD>GRI 207-1: disclosure of a company&rsquo;s approach to tax;</TD></TR></TABLE>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"></P>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.5in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in">2.</TD><TD>GRI 207-2: disclosure of a company&rsquo;s tax governance, control, and risk management;</TD></TR></TABLE>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"></P>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.5in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in">3.</TD><TD>GRI 207-3: disclosure of a company&rsquo;s stakeholder engagement and management of concerns related to tax; and</TD></TR></TABLE>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"></P>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.5in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in">4.</TD><TD>GRI 207-4: public country-by-country reporting (CbCR) of certain company financial information, including income tax paid and accrued,
profits and losses, related party revenues, third party revenues, number of employees, and tangible assets within each jurisdiction. Many
companies also choose to provide narrative explanations of their financial data in each country of operation to assist in the proper interpretation
of the data.</TD></TR></TABLE>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"></P>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">To date, a total of at least 153 multinational enterprises&nbsp;(MNEs) have
published public CbCR data, including at least seven large pharmaceutical and biotech companies: Eisai, CSL, Qiagen, Biocon, DSM-Firmenich,
Insud Pharma and Cipla.<SUP>21</SUP> US companies that have adopted the GRI standard, including Hess and Newmont, have not faced adverse
effects from disclosing additional tax data. These disclosures provide a decision-useful picture of a company&rsquo;s global tax practices,
unlike Merck&rsquo;s insufficient current reporting.&nbsp;</FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"></P>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">Companies releasing tax reports understand that these reports are a key method
of building trust and providing investors and stakeholders with adequate transparency. For example, Shell&rsquo;s former Chief Financial
Officer, Jessica Uhl said, &ldquo;The taxes Shell pays are one of the many links between our business and the countries and communities
where we operate. Today, it is more important than ever that we are open about our tax payments so that people can understand how much
we pay and why.&rdquo;<SUP>22</SUP></FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0 0pt 0.5in">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><B>5. Growing Global Public CbCR Tax Reporting Mandates </B></P>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">Public country-by-country reporting of tax information, as required by GRI
207-4, is also increasingly mandated by regulatory action. Since 2015, European financial institutions have been required to publish CbCR.<SUP>23</SUP></FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">In 2021, the EU approved a directive requiring large multinationals operating
there to disclose CbCR information for their operations across EU member states and selected other jurisdictions.<SUP>24</SUP></FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">_____________________________</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><SUP>20</SUP> &ldquo;Topic Standard for Tax: A new global standard
for public reporting on tax,&rdquo; <U>Global Reporting Initiative</U> (2019), at: https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/standards-development/topic-standard-for-tax/.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><SUP>21</SUP> Giulia Aliprandi &amp; Kane Borders (2024), &ldquo;Advancing
Corporate Tax Transparency, <U>EU Tax Observatory</U>, at: https://www.taxobservatory.eu/publication/advancing-corporate-tax-transparency.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><SUP>22</SUP> &ldquo;The B Team Responsible Tax Principles in Action:
Shell&rsquo;s Dedication to Building Trust Among All Stakeholders,&rdquo; <U>B Team</U>, Jan. 18, 2021, at: https://www.bteam.org/our-thinking/news/the-b-team-responsible-tax-principles-in-action-shells-dedication-to-building-trust-among-all-stakeholders.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><SUP>23</SUP> &ldquo;Article 89 of the Directive (EU) 2013/36 of the
European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013,&rdquo; <U>Official Journal of the European Union</U> (2013), at<I>: </I>https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32013L0036&amp;from=EN.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><SUP>24</SUP> &nbsp;&ldquo;Directive (EU) 2021/2101 of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2021,&rdquo; <U>Official Journal of the European Union </U>(2021), at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=OJ:L:2021:429:FULL.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"></P>

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<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">In 2024, Australia adopted a law to require public CbCR aligned with GRI
207-4 for all large multinationals with significant operations in that country.<SUP>25</SUP></FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"></P>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">Public CbCR was a key recommendation of the UN High Level Panel on International
Financial Accountability, Transparency and Integrity (FACTI).<SUP>26</SUP></FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"></P>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">Merck now is required to produce new disaggregated GAAP data on the tax effects
of its foreign operations pursuant to the Financial Accounting Standards Board&rsquo;s (FASB&rsquo;s) Accounting Standards Update 740
for fiscal year 2025.<SUP>27</SUP></FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"></P>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">According to a recent Deloitte survey of more than 1,000 tax and finance
executives within the Forbes 2000 set of multinational organizations, seven in 10 respondents expect their public tax transparency disclosures
to increase in the coming years, due in part to new public country-by-country reporting requirements.<SUP>28</SUP></FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"></P>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">Merck has acknowledged in its statement of opposition that it is already
preparing to comply with public country-by-country tax reporting requirements in the European Union and Australia. It may reduce the compliance
burden for Merck to fully comply with GRI 207-4, rather than merely meeting the separate minimum legal reporting requirements. Merck can
lead the way on greater tax transparency by producing a GRI tax report that aligns with pending requirements to report this information.</FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><B>6. Merck Has Its Tax Information and Could Easily Report It to Shareholders</B></P>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">Merck asserts a tax report &ldquo;would be costly and time-consuming for
the Company to prepare and would not provide additional value to the Company&rsquo;s shareholders.&rdquo;</FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">This argument is disingenuous. As detailed, Merck is already required to
report this information to OECD tax authorities, so it clearly has all of this information and it could be readily provided to shareholders
in a single report at minimal expense.</FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">Merck also states that it &ldquo;is preparing to comply with various upcoming
mandatory reporting requirements, including the European Union and Australia&rsquo;s public&nbsp;country-by-country&nbsp;reporting requirements
and the Financial Accounting Standards Board&rsquo;s additional income tax disclosure requirements.&rdquo; This underscores the point
of the proposal. Public country-by-country tax reporting will soon be required for Merck, so it makes sense to bring Merck&rsquo;s disclosure
in line with emerging transparency requirements.</FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">_____________________________</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><SUP>25</SUP> &ldquo;FACT Applauds Australia&rsquo;s Passage of Groundbreaking
New Tax Transparency Requirements for Major Multinationals,&rdquo; <U>FACT Coalition</U> (2024), at: https://thefactcoalition.org/australia-public-cbcr.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><SUP>26</SUP> &ldquo;Financial Integrity for Sustainable Development,&rdquo;
<U>The High Level Panel on International Financial Accountability, Transparency and Integrity</U> (2020), at: https://factipanel.org/news/facti-panel-report-has-been-published.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><SUP>27</SUP> &ldquo;Accounting Standards Update No. 2023-09, Income
Taxes (Topic 740), Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures,&rdquo; <U>Financial Accounting Standards Board</U> (2023), at: https://www.fasb.org/page/ShowPdf?path=ASU%202023-09.pdf&amp;title=ACCOUNTING%20STANDARDS%20UPDATE%202023-09%E2%80%94Income%20Taxes%20(Topic%20740):%20Improvements%20to%20Income%20Tax%20Disclosures.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><SUP>28</SUP> &ldquo;Deloitte&rsquo;s 2024 Global Tax Policy Survey
provides a Focus for the Future of Tax, revealing executives navigating competing priorities and change,&rdquo; <U>Deloitte</U>, 2024,
at: https://www.deloitte.com/global/en/services/tax/research/2024-global-tax-policy-survey.html.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"></P>

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<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol">&middot;</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">Merck claims that &ldquo;the Board believes that this information is neither
useful nor informative to our shareholders.&rdquo; We disagree. As this letter has shown, Merck shareholders currently do not have sufficient
information to make an informed and independent assessment of our company&rsquo;s tax practices and any potential risks. </FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><B>&nbsp;</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">The well-documented reputational and financial risks of Merck&rsquo;s
tax practices and its inadequate tax transparency disclosure policies highlight the critical need for our company to improve its tax transparency
to protect shareholder interests.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><B>For all the above reasons, we urge you to vote FOR Proposal 5, the
shareholder proposal requesting an annual tax transparency report. </B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0"><I>For questions regarding Merck &amp; Co., Inc. Proposal #5, <FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">please
contact Timnit Ghermay, </FONT>Northwest Coalition for Responsible Investment, <FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">at tghermay@ipjc.org</FONT>.</I></P>

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