Has News Corp founder Rupert Murdoch decided that the important role The Australian plays in our society exempts it from the edict that all of News Corp's papers pay their own way?
For many people, the most startling thing about the testimony of local News Corp boss Julian Clarke at the recent senate inquiry into corporate tax avoidance had nothing to do with the issue of tax avoidance.
It was his avoidance of the big question surrounding News Ltd's loss-making flagship newspaper, The Australian, and whether it is ever expected to stem the flow of red ink from its accounts.
And it is not like News Ltd isn't doing everything in its power to make the bottom line look good.
Insiders report that the company has started forcing its staff to take leave before the end of the financial year – a well-known tactic for dressing up the financial results.
And on this occasion, new employees, who would have almost no leave accrued, are being hit.
"News Corp Australia [NCA] wants its staff to have a healthy work-life balance and so encourages staff to have their holidays," a company spokesman said.
"NCA does not and has never forced staff to take annual leave."
Early last year, News Corp was strongly challenging claims that The Australian was making massive losses and testified to the fact that its results were heading in the right direction.
It has said that losses totalling $30 million in 2012-13 were halved to $15 million last financial year, and editor-in-chief Chris Mitchell told staff at the paper early this year that it is "on track" to break even by June 30.
It all fitted with the comments from News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson last October on the need for its publications to be profitable, as well as perform a "profound social role".
"People sometimes are squeamish about the word business, but you want to make them businesses: businesses with a commercial purpose and a social purpose."
But when asked at the inquiry by Greens Leader Senator Christine Milne as to why News Corp continues to support a business like The Australian when it is not profitable, Clarke chose to defend the company's right to run the paper at a loss, with no indication that this is expected to change.
"This nation of ours needs a very strong national newspaper like The Australian to do exactly what it is doing," he said.
"Every time you tell me that we are trying to do this to run tax losses, I will tell you that we are not."
News Corp declined to talk to CBD on the matter, but Clarke did, at least, say he preferred to run his newspapers at a profit and pay tax instead of making a loss and claiming a tax benefit.
He also gave an indication of how important the issue of annual leave is to its bottom line.
Clarke revealed that the 9000 employees under his control generate a payroll bill of $1 billion a year.
"If I have four weeks leave due to me, as an accounting principle we take the whole four weeks up. But, from a tax point of view, if I have only taken one or two weeks annual leave, it has a completely different tax out-take."
It is a significant issue for the bottom line. Having already expensed 52 weeks worth of leave and pay for the financial year, any accrued leave not taken basically adds to this $1 billion bill.
Heady scent
South Sea pearler Atlas Pearls and Perfumes has offloaded its cannabis extracts subsidiary to resource sector refugee Capital Mining for a modest sum.
But it will also be able to offer some innovative services to the legal medical marijuana producer.
"Our innovative intellectual property, which already enables us to extract essential oils, flavours and bio-actives from botanicals, will now be available for the processing of industrial hemp to manufacture cannabinoid extracts for therapeutic end use," Atlas boss Pierre Fallourd said.
It certainly sounds like a heady aroma that Tina Arena will find hard to match when she presents her luxury fragrance for Atlas later this year.
Dead certain
Given the public furore over the very fresh approach to Anzac Day taken by our largest grocer, Woolworths, how does Australia's largest listed undertaker, Invocare, handle the matter?
With the utmost sensitivity, of course.
"2014 was the 100th anniversary of the beginning of World War I and, shortly, most people across Australia and New Zealand will pause to remember the initial Gallipoli landings. It is fitting that Invocare pay tribute to those who have been lost in war, regardless of nationality," the opening page of the funeral operator's annual report reads.
Back to the actual business, chairman Richard Fisher told investors that the business was not affected by any unexpected outbreaks of healthiness in its target markets.
"Pleasingly, all geographic regions contributed positively and in line with expectations," he said.
As you would expect from a funeral services group, its departing CEO, Andrew Smith, will get "termination benefits" upon the "termination of his service agreement" at the end of this month.
The gobbledegook almost put CBD to sleep but we were able to determine it involves investors voting to approve cash and share grants at the AGM next month, rather than one of its prepaid funeral service policies.
If shareholders agree to waive the performance hurdles on unvested options under his long-term incentive plan, this alone will deliver $1.4 million.
Swan song
The footy faithfull congregated at the Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney on Friday, for the annual Carbine Club Lunch, to rev up the derby between Sydney Swans and the Greater Western Sydney Giants (GWS).
The Chatham House rule applied but CBD can mention interrogations were conducted of some players and the two coaches, by hard hitting North Melbourne legend and Lambassador, Sam Kekovich.
Watching from the audience were former pollie, Kerry Chikarovski, recently retired Swans president, Richard Colless, Swans boss, Andrew Ireland, Tony Abbott's business pal Tony Shepherd, who chairs the Greater Western Sydney Giants, Westconnex, and sits on the board of the SCG Trust, and businessman Ross Smyth-Kirk. And the smiles continued for the Swans fans, after the definitive win on Saturday.
Got a tip? ckruger@fairfaxmedia.com.au
