Apple chief slapped with $296m tax bill

Apple chief slapped with $296m tax bill


Steve Jobs receives 10m Apple shares, but the tax man wants his cut

Apple chief executive Steve Jobs has sold about half of his Apple shares to pay his tax bill.

Jobs was forced to sell the shares to settle tax charges after he was awarded 10 million Apple shares earlier this year, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Following the transaction, Jobs now owns 5.43 million Apple shares which are currently valued at $324m.

The Apple executive agreed in 2003 to an annual salary of $1 and a package of 10 million Apple shares that would vest in 2006.

The annual Forbes list of the world's wealthiest people published earlier this month put Jobs's net worth at $4.4bn.

Jobs also owns about half of all the stock in the Pixar animation studio, which was sold to Disney earlier this year for $7.4bn.