Newman’s Own Foundation CEO Bob Forrester thanked Connecticut’s U.S. Senators for helping it escape a tax provision that would have threatened its existence.
“So without this legislation of course Newman’s Own, which has existed for over 35 years and has given over $500 million to charity, would have to break itself up for no good reason.”
The company was founded by the late actor Paul Newman. All of its profits are given away by the Foundation.
This unique arrangement, which has had congressional support for a decade, was in jeopardy when it was omitted from the GOP tax bill due to a technicality.
Senator Richard Blumenthal says it wasn’t hard to convince Congress to pass the exemption as part of the compromise to keep the government open earlier this month.
“We've created a lot of goodwill for Newman's Own and for other foundations like it that take profits, all of the profits from a business, and in fact give them away. So I would anticipate that we have a rock solid source of support here.”
Disclosure: Newman’s Own Foundation is an underwriter with WSHU, NPR, and other public radio stations.
