Tax Treatment
There is uncertainty regarding the U.S. federal income tax consequences of an investment in the notes due to the lack of governing
authority. You should review carefully the section entitled “United States Federal Taxation,” and in particular the subsection thereof
entitled “Tax Consequences to U.S. Holders — Program Securities Treated as Debt Instruments — Program Securities Treated as
Contingent Payment Debt Instruments” in the accompanying prospectus supplement. Notwithstanding that the notes do not provide for
the full repayment of their principal amount at or prior to maturity, our special tax counsel, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, is of the opinion
that the notes should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as debt instruments. Based on current market conditions, we
intend to treat the notes for U.S. federal income tax purposes as “contingent payment debt instruments.” Assuming this treatment is
respected, as discussed in that subsection, unlike a traditional debt instrument that provides for periodic payments of interest at a single
fixed rate, with respect to which a cash-method investor generally recognizes income only upon receipt of stated interest, you generally
will be required to accrue original issue discount (“OID”) on your notes in each taxable year at the “comparable yield,” as determined by
us, although we will not make any payment with respect to the notes until maturity. Upon sale or exchange (including at maturity), you
will recognize taxable income or loss equal to the difference between the amount received from the sale or exchange and your adjusted
basis in the note, which generally will equal the cost thereof, increased by the amount of OID you have accrued in respect of the note.
You generally must treat any income as interest income and any loss as ordinary loss to the extent of previous interest inclusions, and
the balance as capital loss. The deductibility of capital losses is subject to limitations. Special rules may apply if the amount payable at
maturity is treated as becoming fixed prior to maturity. You should consult your tax adviser concerning the application of these rules.
The discussions herein and in the accompanying prospectus supplement do not address the consequences to taxpayers subject to
special tax accounting rules under Section 451(b) of the Code. Purchasers who are not initial purchasers of notes at their issue price
should consult their tax advisers with respect to the tax consequences of an investment in notes, including the treatment of the
difference, if any, between the basis in their notes and the notes’ adjusted issue price.
Our intended treatment of the notes as CPDIs will be binding on you, unless you properly disclose to the IRS an alternative treatment.
Also, the IRS may challenge the treatment of the notes as CPDIs. If the IRS successfully challenges the treatment of the notes as
CPDIs, then the notes will be treated as debt instruments that are not CPDIs and would require the accrual of original issue discount as
ordinary interest income based on a yield to maturity higher than the comparable yield. Accordingly, under this treatment, your annual
taxable income from (and adjusted tax basis in) the notes would be higher than if the notes were treated as CPDIs, and any loss
recognized upon a disposition of the notes (including upon maturity) would be capital loss, the deductibility of which is subject to
limitations. Accordingly, this alternative treatment could result in adverse tax consequences to you.
Section 871(m) of the Code and Treasury regulations promulgated thereunder (“Section 871(m)”) generally impose a 30% withholding
tax (unless an income tax treaty applies) on dividend equivalents paid or deemed paid to Non-U.S. Holders with respect to certain
financial instruments linked to U.S. equities or indices that include U.S. equities. Section 871(m) provides certain exceptions to this
withholding regime, including for instruments linked to certain broad-based indices that meet requirements set forth in the applicable
Treasury regulations. Additionally, a recent IRS notice excludes from the scope of Section 871(m) instruments issued prior to January
1, 2027 that do not have a delta of one with respect to underlying securities that could pay U.S.-source dividends for U.S. federal
income tax purposes (each an “Underlying Security”). Based on certain determinations made by us, our special tax counsel is of the
opinion that Section 871(m) should not apply to the notes with regard to Non-U.S. Holders. Our determination is not binding on the IRS,
and the IRS may disagree with this determination. Section 871(m) is complex and its application may depend on your particular
circumstances, including whether you enter into other transactions with respect to an Underlying Security. You should consult your tax
adviser regarding the potential application of Section 871(m) to the notes.
The discussions in the preceding paragraphs, when read in combination with the section entitled “United States Federal Taxation” (and
in particular the subsection thereof entitled “—Tax Consequences to U.S. Holders — Program Securities Treated as Debt
Instruments— Program Securities Treated as Contingent Payment Debt Instruments”) in the accompanying prospectus supplement, to
the extent they reflect statements of law, constitute the full opinion of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP regarding the material U.S. federal
income tax consequences of owning and disposing of the notes.
Comparable Yield and Projected Payment Schedule
We have determined that the “comparable yield” is an annual rate of 4.14%, compounded semiannually. Based on our determination of
the comparable yield, the “projected payment schedule” per $1,000 principal amount note consists of a single payment at maturity,
equal to $1,063.61. Assuming a semiannual accrual period, the following table sets out the amount of OID that will accrue with respect
to a note during each calendar period, based upon our determination of the comparable yield and projected payment schedule.
