Wal-Mart moves up dividend to avoid “fiscal cliff’
(Reuters) – Wal-Mart Stores Inc on Monday became the biggest corporation yet to move its planned dividend into late December from early January to help shareholders avoid a looming jump in the tax rate due to the so-called fiscal cliff.
The shift by the world’s largest retailer will give shareholders, including the family of founder Sam Walton, roughly $1.34 billion in total dividend payments taxed at the current rate.
Fiscal years for retailers typically end in late January, so their dividend payments often are timed differently from those of other types of companies. Exxon Mobil Corp, for instance, had already planned for payouts in December.
“There are complex fiscal and federal tax rate issues that may not be resolved in the next few weeks, despite the ongoing good faith negotiations between the administration and Congress to resolve details related to the fiscal cliff,” Wal-Mart said in a statement.
“In light of this uncertainty, the board determined that moving our dividend payment up by a few days to 2012 was in the best interests of our shareholders.”
