It’s not just a U.S. corporate phenomenon:
Yukos, the Russian oil giant, owes the government unpaid taxes totalling 150bn roubles ($5.05bn), Interfax news agency reported on Tuesday, citing a letter from the tax ministry.
The agency quoted from the letter that was addressed to the prosecutor general’s office. Interfax said the letter alleged that the company owed the amount in unpaid taxes but said the text had not made it clear whether Yukos had broken the law.
Both the tax ministry and the prosecutor general’s office declined to comment.
Yukos has said it used tax minimisation arrangements legally to keep tax bills low.
It doesn’t sound as if the Russian tax ministry is the most aggressive of agencies.