FedEx Corp. Chief Executive Fred Smith had a combative response to a New York Times report that detailed how the delivery giant cut its tax bill to zero: Debate me!

The Times on Sunday reported that, between 2017 and 2018, FedEx FDX, +2.43% cut its tax bill from $1.5 billion to zero, as its effective tax rate sank from 34% to less than zero. The Times said the savings came after intense lobbying by the company — and Smith in particular — for the Trump administration’s tax cuts. Citing financial filings, the Times reported that FedEx paid no taxes in fiscal 2018, and has saved at least $1.6 billion so far thanks to the tax cuts, after paying $2 billion in federal income taxes over the previous 10 years.