Ramped Up Tax Probe in Mexico Targets Evasion Alexandra Alper and Simon Gardner - Reuters
go to original October 8, 2014

MEXICO CITY - Mexican tax authorities are looking to ramp up a tax avoidance probe of major multinationals to scour for evidence of evasion, officials said on Tuesday, adding that they were close to a deal with one firm.

In January, Mexico said it had launched a probe of 270 companies, with a focus on seven, for allegedly exploiting legal tax loopholes that have leaked income out of Mexico for years.

Reuters reported last month that the world's largest household products maker, Procter & Gamble, and No. 2 toymaker, Hasbro, were at the heart of the probe, which could cost the firms hundreds of millions of dollars.

On Tuesday, officials from Mexico's tax authority, SAT, said the department that audits big companies was on the verge of a deal with one to restructure its business so it pays more income tax for prior years. They declined to identify the firm.

The authorities also said they plan to begin formal audits of six more companies soon and to seek authorization from SAT's director to work with the attorney general's office to probe for possible tax evasion.

"There's a thin line between avoidance and evasion," Gloria Suarez, SAT's international tax administrator, told reporters in Mexico City.

Read the full story at Mail Online

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