AstraZeneca Annual Report and Form 20-F Information 2008

UK and US income taxation of dividends

The UK does not currently impose a withholding tax on dividends paid by a UK company, such as the Company.

For US federal income tax purposes, distributions paid by the Company to a US resident shareholder are included in gross income as foreign source ordinary dividend income to the extent of the Company’s current or accumulated earnings and profits, calculated in accordance with US federal income tax principles. The amount of the dividend will be the US dollar amount received by the depositary for US resident holders of ADRs (or in the case of Ordinary Shares, the US dollar value of the pounds sterling on the date the dividend is received by the US resident shareholders, regardless of whether the dividend is converted into US dollars), and it will not be eligible for the dividends received deduction generally available to US corporations. If the dividend is converted into US dollars on the date of receipt, US resident holders of Ordinary Shares generally should not be required to recognise foreign currency gain or loss in respect of the dividend income. They may have foreign currency gain or loss if the amount of such dividend is not converted into US dollars on the date of its receipt.

Subject to applicable limitations and the discussion referred to in the Taxation for US Residents section regarding concerns expressed by the US Treasury, dividends received by certain non-corporate US resident holders of Ordinary Shares or ADRs in taxable years beginning before 1 January 2011 may be subject to US federal income tax at a maximum rate of 15%. US resident shareholders should consult their own tax advisers to determine whether they are subject to any special rules which may limit their ability to be taxed at this favourable rate.