ADADSmith condemned the Times’s report in a Sunday night statement as “factually incorrect” without elaboration and made his unusual demand. “I hereby challenge A.G. Sulzberger, publisher of the New York Times, and the business section editor to a public debate in Washington, D.C., with me and the FedEx corporate vice president of tax,” Smith said in a statement. He pointed out that FedEx spent $5.6 billion in 2018 and said FedEx was an “interesting company” for the Times to single out, given its strong track record. He originally named the company Federal Express because he thought the patriotic association with the word “federal” suggested “an interest in nationwide economic activity,” according to FedEx’s website. Before the law went into effect in January 2018, FedEx predicted it would fuel a $1.3 billion increase in annual profits.

Source: Washington Post November 18, 2019 13:45 UTC