Jack, we all cheered when Fox paid $878 million to settle a defamation claim. But now, we know they will likely get a $200 million tax break out of it.

Sign the petition: Fox cannot get a tax write-off for lying. Our tax money should not be subsidizing their dishonest business.

Sign the petition
You don't just "settle" a defamation claim for $878 million, unless you were probably lying. And that's what Fox News did. But as lawyers have confirmed, the fact that Fox settled the claim with a hefty sum means they can now write it off as a "cost of doing business."

There are some exceptions to this rule. A defendant who settles a sexual harassment lawsuit cannot write off their claims, nor can a defendant who paid government fines get a tax break. But settling a defamation lawsuit against a private party? Unfortunately, Fox probably can get a tax break for that.

NYU tax law professor Daniel Shaviro explained it this way: “If your business model is to tell lies so that you’ll get viewers and have lots of advertising revenues, then, odious though this business model may be, the tax system’s job is to tax you on the profits that you actually make from it. And those profits are indeed reduced when you are successfully sued by the victims of your malicious falsehoods.”

That's absurd. Experts say that Fox can now get a $200 million tax break. If exceptions already exist for sexual harassment and government fines, why not for what Fox did?

Sign if you agree: Fox should not be getting a tax break for lying.

Sign the petition
Keep fighting,
Paul Hogarth, Daily Kos