WASHINGTON, DC -- A decision by the Senate’s parliamentarian could force the sale of the late actor Paul Newman’s food company, and dismantle his charity. During the Senate’s consideration of Republicans’ plans to rewrite the tax code, Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough struck a provision that would have spared Newman’s Own from an unusual 200 percent tax it’s facing. It had been seeking the provision for eight years, and appeared to be finally on the cusp of victory. Both House and Senate Republicans had included the exemption in their tax plan drafts, with little controversy or debate. But MacDonough deemed the provision — along with more than a dozen others — to be violations of the Senate’s rules, so they were deleted before the legislation was passed last week.
