Burger King wants to buy Tim Hortons so it can dodge U.S. taxes

If Burger King has its way, the fast food chain will flee to Canada to lower its tax bill.

The home of the Whopper is in talks to buy Canadian-based Tim Hortons and relocate its company headquarters north of the border. The deal, which would merge America's second-largest burger chain with Canada's biggest doughnut shop, would create a fast food behemoth while reportedly allowing each chain to continue operating independently.

But crucially, relocating would also allow Burger King to pay a lower corporate tax rate, a controversial cost-cutting scheme known as a "tax inversion." (Canada has a 26.5 percent corporate tax rate, versus the 40 percent rate in the U.S.) Last month, President Obama called companies that ink such deals "corporate deserters."

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Predictably, Burger King's share price leapt Monday morning amid the news.