Following in the footsteps of Vodafone
Nokia looks set to be the latest phone company to fall foul of India’s tax authorities amid reports it’s being asked to cough up £340 million to cover past “irregularities.”
The Finnish manufacturer, whose shares closed more than 4 per cent lower in New York last night, is already up against the ropes as it struggles to regain market share with its Lumia handsets running Windows Phone 8.
But, according to India’s Economic Times, Nokia is the latest multinational to find itself in the taxman’s gunsights with the publication citing the £340 million figure as coming from an unnamed government IT official.
It comes as Britain’s Vodafone is also facing a renewed demand for £1.6 billion from the country’s tax regime relating to its acquisition of Hutchison Whampoa’s 67 per cent stake in what is now known as Vodafone India.
Search giant Google has similarly been affected, hit with a £8.7 million fine for alleged accounting violations.
The toughening stance of India’s tax authority comes as sales of phones and other mobile devices are predicted to grow over 13 per cent this year to 251 million units, in a market where Nokia is reckoned to command a valuable 22 per cent share.
Nokia has yet to comment specifically on the latest reports about its tax affairs, though in a general statement it asserted its continued commitment to being “a good corporate citizen” in the region.
