1986 - The Exon Library

Proponents of the amendment claimed that it would save
taxpayers considerable money by restricting Norfolk
Southern's (NS) use of Conrail's built-in depreciation
deductions. The tax benefits to NS would constitute a
sizeable rebate of between $200 million to $400 million on
their $1.2 billion purchase price. The amendment would
limit Conrail's use of tax deductions to offset income--not
to offset other existing income-producing operations of NS.
There already are heavy losses to consumers by the
antitrust implications and reduction in competition which
will result from this joinder.
Opponents of the amendment asserted that passing the
amendment would involve rewriting complex tax laws to
single out one company unfairly. Such a change would wreck
the economics of the Conrail sale and make the proposed
sale unattractive to NS.