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By TIMES WIRES
Published September 12, 2006

GlaxoSmithKline will pay record $3.4B in tax dispute

Drug giant GlaxoSmithKline agreed to pay $3.4-billion in the largest tax settlement in IRS history, resolving a dispute from the 1980s over the multinational company's U.S. profits. The disagreement concerned how much of the profits from certain drugs, particularly the ulcer and heartburn medication Zantac, should be attributed to U.S. subsidiaries of GlaxoSmithKline PLC and, therefore, subject to tax. GlaxoSmithKline Holdings (Americas) Inc. agreed to pay $3.4-billion to settle taxes owed from 1989 through 2005, the Internal Revenue Service said Monday. After deductions for state and local taxes, the company will pay $3.1-billion in cash. Glaxo said it had set money aside for the dispute, and the settlement will not have a significant effect on its reported earnings. The company also said drug prices for customers will not be affected.

Other chatter

R.H. Donnelley says CEO didn't graduate: Telephone directory publisher R.H. Donnelley Corp. said Monday that, contrary to prior assertions by the company, its chairman and chief executive officer never graduated from the Minnesota university he attended. David Swanson, 51, attended St. Cloud State University in Minnesota from 1973 to 1976 but did not earn a degree, Donnelley said. The company has twice issued news releases stating that he had. One was issued to announce Swanson's appointment as CEO in 2002. The other announced a promotion in 1999. The country's third-largest yellow pages publisher said the detail has never appeared in any document filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or the New York Stock Exchange. And it said Swanson did not claim to be a graduate of St. Cloud State when he was hired 21 years ago.

NEW MAGAZINE COMING FROM TRADER MONTHLY: Doubledown Media, the company behind Trader Monthly, a successful magazine for financial traders, is introducing a new magazine for investment bankers. Dealmaker will debut in the United States in November and in Europe next spring.

SAKS OFFERS ELITE CREDIT CARD: Luxury retailer Saks Inc. is introducing a new credit card, the Saks Fifth Avenue World Elite MasterCard, for its wealthy customers. The card is black in color with a black-and-white Saks logo. The other well-known black card on the market is issued to very wealthy customers by American Express. The Saks card - the first to be issued on MasterCard Worldwide's new world elite platform - is aimed at consumers with annual incomes of $250,000 or more.

[Last modified September 11, 2006, 23:07:27]