
Coca-Cola Co. announced on Friday that it will remit $6 billion in back taxes and interest to the Internal Revenue Service as it challenges a final federal tax court decision in a protracted 17-year-old case.
The beverage conglomerate from Atlanta stated that it remains committed to contesting the decision and is confident in its chances of prevailing. The dispute involves taxes and interest the IRS claims Coca-Cola owes for the years 2007, 2008, and 2009. “The company looks forward to the opportunity to begin the appellate process and, as part of that process, will pay the agreed-upon liability and interest,” Coca-Cola declared in a statement. Coca-Cola’s spokesperson, Scott Leith, offered no further comments to The Associated Press.
On Friday, U.S. Tax Court Judge Albert Lauber issued a brief two-sentence ruling, concluding his examination of the case. This legal conflict entered the courts in December 2015, shortly after Coca-Cola acknowledged to the IRS that it owed an additional $3.3 billion in federal taxes and interest for the years in question.
In its statement on Friday, Coca-Cola accused the IRS of altering the method it previously allowed the company to use for calculating U.S. income derived from over $9 billion in profits from foreign subsidiaries and affiliates.
An IRS spokesperson did not immediately respond to a telephone message from AP regarding the case.
In a 2015 Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Coca-Cola mentioned that it had been using the same approach to determine its taxable U.S. income from foreign affiliates for almost three decades.
In a quarterly report filed with the SEC on Monday, which also provided investor guidance, Coca-Cola stated its belief that the IRS and Judge Lauber “misinterpreted and misapplied the applicable regulations in reallocating income earned by the company’s foreign licensees.”
The publicly listed company indicated that it anticipated “some or all of (the $6 billion), plus accrued interest, would be refunded” if it succeeds in its appeal. Coca-Cola has 90 days to file its appeal documents.
Last week, the company revised its full-year sales forecast upward following a stronger-than-expected second quarter, which was bolstered by price increases on its products.
{Matzav.com}
Typical evil greedy corporation. Supports the democrats.