The CEO of FedEx has issued a challenge to the publisher of The New York Times over the newspaper’s report that the company paid no federal taxes in 2018.
The Times reported on Sunday that FedEx “owed no taxes in the 2018 fiscal year overall,” according to the company’s financial filings. The company had owed more than $1.5 billion in taxes in fiscal year 2017, the year before the GOP tax bill passed.
FedEx CEO Frederick Smith issued a statement later on Sunday challenging the Times’ story, which he called “distorted and factually incorrect.” He asserts that the Times did not pay federal income tax in 2017, and paid a small amount in 2018 compared to how much the newspaper made.
“I hereby challenge A.G. Sulzberger, publisher of the New York Times and the business section editor to a public debate in Washington, DC with me and the FedEx corporate vice president of tax,” Smith said. “The focus of the debate should be federal tax policy and the relative societal benefits of business investments and the enormous intended benefits to the United States economy, especially lower and middle class wage earners.”
Smith added, “I look forward to promptly hearing from Mr. Sulzberger and scheduling this open event to bring further public awareness of the facts related to these important issues.”
A spokesperson for the Times told Fox Business on Monday that the newspaper is “confident in the accuracy of our reporting,” adding that "FedEx's colorful response does not actually challenge a single fact in our story.”
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