Income taxes

3 Months Ended

Nov. 30, 2021

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Income taxes

Income taxes

The effective tax rate for the three months ended November 30, 2021 was an expense of 7.2%, primarily due to lower tax expense on gains from consolidation of the Company’s investment in VillageMD and Shields, as a portion of these gains is not subject to tax. See Note 3 Acquisitions for further information.

The effective tax rate for the three months ended November 30, 2020 was a benefit of 34.0%, on a pretax loss for the three months ended November 30, 2020, primarily due to the discrete tax effect of equity losses in AmerisourceBergen. See Note 6 Equity method investments for further information.

Income taxes paid for the three months ended November 30, 2021 were $34 million, compared to $16 million for the three months ended November 30, 2020.