I've had personal meetings with The Seattle Times' Executive Editor David Boardman and his journalists about Microsoft's $1.51 billion dollar Nevada tax dodge. Despite David's spoken intent to cover the issue, the paper never has.
So, I thought it was a bit surprising that The Times hit Amazon with a front page article on its poor record of corporate giving in Seattle. The article ran on April Fools Day - so perhaps this was The Seattle Times treating its readers for fools.
But seriously, doesn't paying your taxes come before corporate giving? Isn't tax dodging a bigger sin than failing to make donations to your community?
When newspapers fail to cover the problems in our tax system and the former-Microsoft employee turned legislator that contributes to the problem, then the region's safety net falls apart and we depend more heavily on corporate donations. But surely The Times should do a better job of covering this issue first.
Shame on The Seattle Times. Shame on Microsoft.
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