The New York Times has for years editorialized against corporations “abusing the Tax Code.” But does the Times practice what they preach? Of course not— that would be fiscally irresponsible.
As Allan Sloan reports in today’s Washington Post (hat tip: Captain’s Quarters), the New York Times is taking full advantage of Section 338 of the Code in its’ $410 million purchase of About.com. As Mr. Sloan reports, Lehman Brothers’ tax expert Robert Willens puts the savings at about $160 million over 15 years.
The Times has liberally noted the “abuse” of the system by corporate America. For example, on January 30th the Times editorialized against Johnson & Johnson using a section of the Code to bring foreign profits back into the US at a lower tax rate. Indeed, a search I ran of the Times’s editorials and op-ed pieces from 1986 to the present found 84,425 hits for “corporate tax abuse.” Admittedly, many of these will deal with scandals such as Enron; however, can anyone really dispute where the Times stands on this issue?
I have no problem with the Times taking advantage of any part of the tax code (I want my own clients to take every possible legal deduction and credit). However, the Times should change their hypocritical editorial stance on corporate tax abuse. Or their next editorial should be, “Times Abuses the Tax Code.”