GE and The New York Times Battle Over Tax Story

General Electric is fighting back against a report by The New York Times that the company did not pay any federal taxes last year. GE called the allegations, “inaccurate,” and “grossly oversimplified,” and said that it did pay almost $2.7 billion in cash income taxes in 2010, and in excess of $1 billion in payroll, state and local sales and property taxes.  Who’s telling the truth?  Louise Story, Wall Street and finance reporter for the Times, says the $2.7 billion in taxes is a global figure, which includes other countries than the U.S. And the $1 billion in state taxes paid isn’t relevant, because the Times  story was about GE not paying federal taxes. She also explains that GE has been fighting back against the Times’ report via Twitter. They aren’t disputing the facts of the story, but trying to send out their own message.