Microsoft Dividend Lifts U.S. Personal Income
Microsoft Corp.’s $32.6-billion special dividend payment last month raised personal income nationwide and probably worsened the U.S. current account deficit in the fourth quarter, the Commerce Department said Friday.
About $24 billion of the payment will be recorded as personal dividend income in December, for an annual rate of $288 billion, the department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis said. That’s enough to boost total U.S. personal income by 2.9% in the month, according to Bloomberg data.
The $3-a-share, one-time payout by Microsoft is the largest return of capital ever for a U.S. company.
The projected surge in personal income would be the biggest since a 3.4% gain in December 1993, when many Americans took steps to increase earnings recorded that year ahead of tax increases slated to begin in 1994.
The U.S. current account balance, the broadest measure of trade, will “become more negative” by the amount of Microsoft dividends distributed to overseas shareholders, the bureau said.
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