Olympus hit with $62.5M in back taxes

The Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau has issued a 5 billion yen (US$62.46 million) charge to Olympus for back taxes spanning five years and penalties for misreporting its financial transactions, according to a report.

In a report on Thursday, the Yomiuri Shimbun said the scandal-tainted Japanese electronics company did not declare about 1.6 billion yen in incomein relation to its acquisition of Gyrus Group over five years until March 2011.

Citing unnamed sources, the report said tax authorities did not recognize the company's claims for 15 billion yen (US$187.9 million) worth of expenses related to the purchase of the British company. The acquisition of Gyrus cost the Japanese company US$2 billion.

Olympus on Wednesday issued a statement saying it will "respond appropriately" to any notices it receives from the tax authorities, which it has yet to receive. It said it has set aside enough funds to prevent any revisions to its earning outlook for this fiscal year ending March 2013.

Last week, another Japanese electronics maker NEC also reportedly evaded more than 10 billion yen (US$124.9 million) in taxes for three years by overcompensating a Hong Kong company when it pulled out of its overseas mobile phone business.