Indiana Makes a Deal with Sony

Few things rile international businessmen more than the unitary tax, an accounting formula used in twelve American states, that considers a multinational corporation's worldwide operations when figuring its tax, rather than just its local ones.

Last week a group of Japanese businessmen, headed by Sony Chairman Akio Morita, met with President Reagan to protest the unitary tax, which it considers arbitrary and unfair.

Morita has already found a way to blunt the issue. He told the state of Indiana that he would build a $20 million videodisc manufacturing plant if it would promise to repeal its unitary tax. Though the legislature had adjourned for the year, leaders signed a document in favor of Morita's proposal. The new plant is expected to provide up to 150 jobs in depressed Terre Haute, where the unemployment rate is 11.9%. Says Terre Haute Mayor Pete Chalos: "It was a matter of deciding that we wanted Indiana to be a place where we would see more investment." Indiana's action will help the antitax campaign in other states.