We know it's super important that all giant corporations get HUGE tax breaks and actually never pay any actual taxes in America, so they can all "be more competitive" by laying off all American workers and feeding us a steady diet of EVIL, but you would think somebody inRonald Reagan Junior'sBarack Obama's administration would've noticed the potential bad Public Relations involved in giving Rupert Murdoch's Fox & Fiends global propaganda conglomerate a $4.8 billion tax refund after News Corp. managed to not pay any taxes at all, right?UPDATE: And Reuters mysteriously pulls down the entire column -- the entire column! -- because that's whatalwayshappens when the subject of a business column claims the column is incorrect.
Brave Reuters business columnist David Cay Johnston breaks it down:
Over the past four years Murdoch's U.S.-based News Corp. has made money on income taxes. Having earned $10.4 billion in profits, News Corp. would have been expected to pay $3.6 billion at the 35 percent corporate tax rate. Instead, it actually collected $4.8 billion in income tax refunds, all or nearly all from the U.S. government.
Fox News, the editorial pages of his Wall Street Journal and other Murdoch outlets often rail against taxes. Their attacks on government benefits for the elderly, the sick, the jobless and children focus attention on the uses of tax dollars and away from his aggressive efforts to enjoy the benefits of civilization without paying for them.
Take a look at your life, and then divest yourself of any exposure to News Corp.'s products. It's easy! And you will have an immediately better life if you're not swallowing the swill of Murdoch's empire of shit, whether it's the bald-faced evil of Fox News or the mind-numbing broadcast pornography of Fox movies and television shows.
Additionally,don't spend money on things that pay Murdoch money. If it's advertised on Fox News or in theNew York Postor on the Fox television network, you really don't need it! Really! You've already seen enough ofThe Simpsonsand christ knows you don't need to be pissing away what's left of your life watchingAmerican Idol. Turn off your teevee and go outside, it's summertime! (You don't need anything advertised anywhere. When you actually need something, you'll know it.) [ Reuters / Telegraph ]
But we need something left behind for Con Ed and Gen Electric.
We're not the "Target Demographic" anyway.