Taxes for Thee, but Not For Me

Liberals typically argue that marginal tax rates really don’t make that much difference to economic behavior.  So then why are so many companies rushing to pay special dividends before the first of the year, when taxes on dividends will triple?  Chief among them is the Washington Post, which just announced it will pay an early dividend:

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Washington Post Co. will pay its 2013 dividends before the end of this year to try to spare investors from anticipated tax increases.

The media and education company said Friday that its dividend of $9.80 per share is payable Dec. 27 to shareholders of record as of Dec. 17. The payout is instead of regular quarterly dividends next year.

Washington Post is the latest company to move up its quarterly payout or issue a special end-of-year payment to protect investors from potentially having to pay higher taxes on dividend income starting in January.

I guess the Post‘s management doesn’t read the Post‘s editorial page.  Hey wait a minute: Warren Buffett is the Post‘s largest shareholder:

The Washington Post’s dividend payment also stands to benefit those with a significant stake in the company, such as Warren Buffett’s firm Berkshire Hathaway. Berkshire is its largest shareholder with an estimated 1.7 million shares, which means it could get a roughly $17 million dividend payment.

I guess I should stop being amazed at the brazenness of liberal hypocrisy.

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