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http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/...0805100053.html
ZITATKonica Minolta accused of 1.8 billion yen tax dodge

05/10/2008
BY NOBUYOSHI NAKAMURA AND KOTA FUNAHASHI

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

The Konica Minolta group, a major manufacturer of precision machinery, intentionally concealed about 1.8 billion yen in taxable income through dubious dealings of its subsidiaries over a two-year period, sources said.

The Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau found that Konica Minolta Holdings Inc., a group holding company based in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward, also failed to declare more than 200 million yen in income due to accounting errors over the same two years through March 2007, the sources said.

The Konica Minolta group was told to pay about 1.2 billion yen in unpaid taxes and penalties.

An official of Konica Minolta Holdings said the group will follow the instructions of the tax authority.

"Our group companies had been too eager to promote sales to pay sufficient attention to proper tax procedures," the official said.

Much of the 1.8 billion yen in hidden income involved subsidiary Konica Minolta Healthcare Co.'s questionable leases of medical devices to hospitals, the sources said.

Konica Minolta Healthcare, based in Hino, western Tokyo, sells medical equipment and devices, such as X-ray scanning machines, to hospitals affiliated with Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. and Japan Railway companies, as well as those run by universities and others.

The subsidiary had leased such devices for free with expectations of winning future contracts. The costs for the leased devices were passed on to other transactions, resulting in a reduction in reported income.

According to the sources, the tax authority concluded the company should have written off the expenses of the leased devices by booking them as depreciation costs because those devices were still its assets under the contracts.

Such free leasing of medical devices is a widespread business practice among device makers, but it can hinder fair market competition.

The Japan Fair Trade Council of the Medical Devices Industry, an association of medical device makers in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward, prohibits member companies, including Konica Minolta Healthcare, from offering medical institutions special benefits, such as donations of money and products, to secure fair competition.

However, following requests by member companies, the industry body has allowed the lease of devices for certain periods as part of sales promotion efforts.

Konica Minolta Healthcare concluded leasing contracts but did not actually charge fees nor require the return of the equipment after the contracts expired, the sources said.

Besides expectations for future contracts, the company intended to profit through maintenance services of the leased devices and sales of replacement parts and supplies, the sources said.

About 700 million yen of the 1.8 billion yen the group had concealed was connected to another subsidiary, Konica Minolta Photo Imaging Inc., the sources said.

The subsidiary, also based in Hino, reported the 700 million yen in the fiscal year through March 2007 as tax-deductible costs for its withdrawal from China.

However, the tax authority decided the expenditures were taxable entertainment and social expenses because the funds were excessive and covered compensation for local companies that took over the operations, the sources said.

Konica Minolta Photo Imaging had operated mini-labs for developing and printing services within camera sales outlets across China. However, the company began to pull out of the Chinese market after the group halted its camera business in March 2006.

According to Konica Minolta Photo Imaging, six or seven major Chinese agents set up a joint maintenance company to take over the mini-lab operations. The company paid the 700 million yen to the agents and several maintenance companies to finance part of the maintenance and management costs.

The tax authority, however, concluded that the expenditures included compensation for lost jobs and commission fees for "fixers" to prevent possible trouble, the sources said. (IHT/Asahi: May 10,2008) [/quote]

Wobei das Wort Billion mit Vorsicht zu geniessen ist, es koennen auch "nur" 1,8 Milliarden gemeint sein.

Wobei es mir ehrlich gesagt auch ziemlich egal ist, dann haben sie auch gut verdient, und Steuern muessen wir doch alle bezahlen. Fuer Steuerhinterziehung habe ich kein Verstaendniss.

ZITAt (Ilona A. @ 2008-05-24, 18:49) Wobei das Wort Billion mit Vorsicht zu geniessen ist, es koennen auch "nur" 1,8 Milliarden gemeint sein.[/quote]
Guter Hinweis! Zur Klarstellung: Es sind in der Tat "nur" Milliarden gemeint, und zwar Yen, nicht USD. Eine deutsche Billion (gemäß der "langen Leiter" entspricht 1000 US-amerikanischen Billions (gemäß der "kurzen Leiter".

Viele Grüße,

Matthias

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