David Cay Johnston: It pays to be Murdoch. Just ask the U.S. gov't.

[Jankyn]

Tax reporter David Cay Johnston's first column for Reuters points out how Rupert Murdoch's NewsCorp (parent company of FOX News) has benefited--handsomely--from the U.S. tax system that coddles corporations.

Rupert Murdoch may not garner as much attention for his financial savvy as he does for his journalistic escapades, which last week led to the shuttering of Britain's oldest tabloid. But that doesn't make his money management any less impressive.

Indeed, when it comes to taxes, instead of rendering unto Caesar, Murdoch has Caesar rendering unto him.

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.

Read more: It pays to be Murdoch. Just ask the U.S. gov't.

[zeos3]

1. K&R

[indepat]

2. Reading obscenities of this nature as government plows full steam ahead to require

seniors to bear the brunt of this and their other obscenities warms the cockles plenty. :patriot:

[pscot]

3. I'll take your word for it

I don't believe I can bear to read the whole thing.

[Pab Sungenis]

4. WHY THE FUCK ARE WE SUBSIDIZING FOX NEWS?

Close the loopholes NOW.

[JohnFx]

5. That would be a good story if it were true, but alas....

That would be a good story if it were true, but alas the scapegoat of the left did indeed pay his taxes and quite a bit of them.

Here is the retraction from the author of the original article. Apparently he misread the tax forms and it turns out the $4.8B was what NewsCorp PAID, not what they got as some kind of refund.

Note: Even if it was a refund, that is not the same as a net gain. A refund is when the Government returns an overpayment of taxes. It's the sneaky way that Government tricks people into thinking people into thinking of the IRS as a January cash vending machine instead of an expense.

Retraction: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/13/column-dcjohnston-murdoch-idUSN1E76C25320110713
And here: http://www.mediaite.com/online/report-news-corp-paid-no-taxes-after-profiting-10b-yet-recd-4-5b-in-refunds/

"(Reuters) - Readers, I apologize. The premise of my debut column for Reuters, on News Corp's taxes, was wrong, 100 percent dead wrong.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp did not get a $4.8 billion tax refund for the past four years, as I reported. Instead, it paid that much in cash for corporate income taxes for the years 2007 through 2010 while earning pre-tax profits of $10.4 billion."

[banned from Kos]

6. thanks for posting that retraction (skinback) - Murdoch is a scumbag

but the truth is the truth.

[CartoonDiablo]

7. That won't last for long

Even staunch conservatives like Peter King are asking the FBI to investigate News Corp. my guess is they'll eventually lose the subsidies.

[KoKo]

8. K&R!