Faced with a hefty tax bill for collecting on an earlier long-term incentive bonus, BHP Billiton BHP +0.55% Chief Executive Marius Kloppers this week sold roughly US$5.2 million worth of shares in the mining giant. South Africa-born Mr. Kloppers will use the money to pay off an anticipated tax obligation in the U.K. for 245,000 shares in ASX-listed BHP Billiton Ltd. that vested to him under a 2007 long-term incentive scheme, a Melbourne-based spokeswoman for the company said. Mr. Kloppers also this week collected 54,831 shares deferred under a 2010 incentive scheme and purchased 36 shares on the market. The anticipated tax hit comes after Mr. Kloppers, who has been in the driving seat at the Anglo-Australian company for five years now, opted out of any chance at an annual bonus for the last fiscal year and the mining company froze the base salaries for executives this year. Mr. Kloppers sold 1.15 million pounds sterling (US$1.86 million) in shares of the London-listed arm of BHP and 3.28 million Australian dollars (US$3.37 million) in ASX-listed shares in recent days, the company said in separate statements to the Australian stock exchange Wednesday and Friday. Mr. Kloppers total take-home pay package in the last fiscal year shrank by 40%, despite a 4% rise in his base salary, after he and the head of BHP's petroleum division declined bonuses following a hefty impairment charge against the value of recently acquired U.S. shale gas assets. BHP last month said it was freezing the base salaries of its senior management for the current fiscal year through June "in recognition of the prevailing business climate." For Mr. Kloppers, that means his base pay stays at US$2.21 million this fiscal year. His total package last year was US$6.63 million. As prices for industrial commodities such as coal and iron ore have slumped sharply in recent months, mining companies have been forced to postpone expansion projects, rein in spending and close some operations. BHP has cut jobs, halted output at a second loss-making coking coal mine in eastern Australia, and shelved or delayed more than US$50 billion in investment in Australia alone. Market Watch
