Dow Chemical lost a federal court case this week involving what the Justice Department said were "$1 billion in phony tax deductions," Accounting Today reports.
The Accounting Today dispatch quotes Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally of the Justice Department's Tax Division, who praised court's opinion and said, "It is offensive to all taxpayers who pay their fair share when our largest corporations believe that they can claim hundreds of millions of dollars in tax deductions that are manufactured by abusive tax schemes."
We've noted here previously that the CEO of Dow Chemical, Andrew Liveris, is President Obama's second-favorite CEO. The president invited him to a state dinner at the White House and has appointed him to be a member of the President's Export Council and the U.S.-India CEO Forum. Mr. Liveris also wrote a book calling for greater government subsidies for renewable energy.
Dow defends its position and says it may appeal, but for now it sure looks like Mr. Liveris of Dow is like President Obama's other CEO pals, Jeffrey Immelt of GE and Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway, backing tax rate increases for others while doing everything possible to minimize them for themselves. In Dow's case, it extends to what this federal prosecutor calls an "abusive" tax scheme. Maybe Mr. Liveris can take the matter up with Mr. Obama at the next state dinner.