Reuters reporter/columnist David Cay Johnston has done some great research into the subsidies that Rupert Murdoch’s “News Corp” has been receiving from the United States government (the same government his political allies here love to attack).
Based on the company’s $10.4 billion profits during the past four years, the company would have been expected to pay $3.6 billion at the 35 percent corporate tax rate. But instead the company managed to collect $4.8 billion in income tax refunds, “all or nearly all from the U.S. government.” This magic was achieved through “aggressive use” of intra-company transactions that move profits to global tax-free locations (outside the United States) and losses to heavily taxed areas (guess-where); buying companies with tax losses; and by maximizing the benefits of tax deferrals.
It is all probably legal (i.e., using legal tax loopholes the GOP has provided corporations), but taking billions in subsidies from government while leading efforts to cut off much more modest support to the poor and middle class defines cynicism.