The text discusses the importance of handling NULL values appropriately when performing arithmetic operations across SQL columns. It provides an example where sales records from different jurisdictions and product categories are used to calculate total costs, with some missing tax or hazmat fees data represented as NULL. To handle these NULL values, the COALESCE function is recommended, which defaults to a value of 0 when encountering a NULL. The text also reminds that one plus NULL equals NULL in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division operations.