Word: pretax
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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There is some basis for that concern. Even though corporate charitable contributions have climbed to record levels in dollar terms, they have fallen to about 1% of pretax profits from more than 2% a decade ago. That's partly explained by a combination of tax-law changes, today's soaring profits and a shift to product donations in lieu of cash. Still, it's the kind of thing that makes traditional nonprofits sweat. And the latest bout of merger mania makes them even more uncomfortable. When two big companies--each with its own foundation--become one, only one foundation...
...warning to smokers of all ages, Liggett will state on cigarette packs and in ads that smoking is an addictive habit. Liggett will also cooperate in suits against other tobacco companies and will allow its own employees to testify. Moreover, Liggett agreed to pay a quarter of its pretax profits to the states every year for the next 25 years, a promise not as impressive as it sounded. "Twenty-five percent of nothing is nothing," quipped one analyst...
...addictive depended very much on where in the morass of tobacco litigation you currently sat. States Attorneys General pointed to the fact that the North Carolina-based maker of Chesterfield, Lark and L&M cigarettes agreed to up-front payments of about $25 million, plus 2.5 percent of its pretax profits over the next 25 years, as evidence that tobacco companies are in some way responsible for the health-care costs states are suing to recover. And the fact that Liggett will turn over hundreds of thousands of insider documents that states hope will prove severely damaging to the tobacco...
...figure down to $3 billion or less. But even at the higher figure, "it's not a lot of money" under certain scenarios, notes Roy Burry, an analyst at Oppenheimer & Co. No industry has greater pricing flexibility, and every nickel-a-pack increase generates $1 billion in annual pretax tobacco earnings. If the industry is worried about gouging customers, shoot, just issue more stock. Wall Street would pay through the nose for a liability-free Philip Morris...
...hefty $1.5 billion in earnings poured in after the budget impasse allowed a 10% sales tax on ticket prices to lapse on Jan. 1. Instead of passing on this tax break to travelers, carriers pocketed the money. This silent fare boost accounted for nearly half the increase in pretax profits that the eight largest airlines reported for the first six months, according to analyst Brian Harris of Lehman Brothers. The tax, which goes to the Aviation Trust Fund to improve airport safety and security, is expected to be reinstated this month. That leaves airlines with the choice of raising ticket...