BOSTON--Forget everyday low prices. Wal-Mart has been paying high-priced lobbyists to keep the company from having to pay its fair share of income tax to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Wal-Mart paid nearly a quarter of a million dollars last year to a small army of 8 lobbyists to push its agenda with Beacon Hill lawmakers in 2007. The retailer's 'high-priced' lobbying tab for 2007 came to $208,678---five times what the company spent...