Toyota's Australian division managed to surprise its mother company by posting this week a loss of AU$107.9 million for the 2009-2010 financial year (which ended March 31), mostly due to what Toyota considers a “huge” AU$290.2 million tax.
The carmaker's revenues, after selling 214,465 vehicles, were hit by declining exports, reaching a value of AU$8.6 billion, down from the AU$8.8 billion posted for the fiscal year 2008-2009.
“Included within that number is an adjustment with the Australian Tax Office after an intensive period of review and discussion between Toyota Australia and tax authorities,” Toyota Australia spokesman Glenn Campbell told GoAuto.
The tax which led to the loss comprised, as Campbell said, an adjustment with the Australian Tax Office. The spokesman however did not go into details about what the tax is all about.
“Like any taxpayer, details of our relationship with the ATO remain confidential. The setting of intercompany prices for products is a complex issue for all large corporations and we have worked co-operatively with tax authorities to resolve the matter."
“Toyota Australia will continue to work with the ATO to ensure we have tax clarity and certainty for all parties.”
Yet, Toyota's top executives blame the huge recall from the beginning of the year, together with all the bad publicity Toyota received over the matter, for the poor results. Together with currency fluctuations and price increases for materials, the recall made for a very troubling year for the Japanese manufacturer.
“The reality is that Toyota sales significantly deteriorated in the first half and were much lower than we hoped. We were still profitable but market conditions continued to be impact by the global financial crisis,” Campbell added.
The carmaker's revenues, after selling 214,465 vehicles, were hit by declining exports, reaching a value of AU$8.6 billion, down from the AU$8.8 billion posted for the fiscal year 2008-2009.
“Included within that number is an adjustment with the Australian Tax Office after an intensive period of review and discussion between Toyota Australia and tax authorities,” Toyota Australia spokesman Glenn Campbell told GoAuto.
The tax which led to the loss comprised, as Campbell said, an adjustment with the Australian Tax Office. The spokesman however did not go into details about what the tax is all about.
“Like any taxpayer, details of our relationship with the ATO remain confidential. The setting of intercompany prices for products is a complex issue for all large corporations and we have worked co-operatively with tax authorities to resolve the matter."
“Toyota Australia will continue to work with the ATO to ensure we have tax clarity and certainty for all parties.”
Yet, Toyota's top executives blame the huge recall from the beginning of the year, together with all the bad publicity Toyota received over the matter, for the poor results. Together with currency fluctuations and price increases for materials, the recall made for a very troubling year for the Japanese manufacturer.
“The reality is that Toyota sales significantly deteriorated in the first half and were much lower than we hoped. We were still profitable but market conditions continued to be impact by the global financial crisis,” Campbell added.