Out-of-Favor Alibaba’s Earnings Hit by Higher Taxes

Alibaba Group Holding Inc. reported a three-year-high effective tax rate in its disappointing third-quarter earnings, the latest hit to the e-commerce giant’s fiscal performance amid a regulatory crackdown that has rattled the tech sector.

For the quarter ended September, Alibaba has paid nearly 6.1 billion yuan ($954 million) in income tax, more than triple the 1.9 billion yuan in the same period last year. Its effective tax rate, hence, amounted to 24%, excluding factors like share-based compensation expense, revaluation and disposal gains/losses of investments, and so on, according to its quarterly results.