MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — General Mills, Inc. said Friday that it settled a federal tax case and that a California judge has issued a ruling in a separate state tax case.
The cereal and snack maker said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it expects to pay about $425 million in fiscal 2011 in the settlement with the Internal Revenue Service, which covers fiscal years 2002 through 2008. At issue were the amount of capital loss, depreciation and amortization that it reported related to selling non-controlling interests in a subsidiary, Minneapolis-based General Mills said.
As a result of both the IRS case and the California decision, which General Mills did not detail, the company said it expects to record a net reduction of income tax expense of about $90 million in its fiscal second quarter.
General Mills said it previously estimated that it would pay about $425 million to settle liabilities in fiscal 2011 related to uncertain tax positions. The expected cash payments are already included in the company's plans, and won't affect targeted capital spending, dividend payments or share repurchases for fiscal 2011.
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