The airline Norwegian, which on Thursday morning reported an operating loss for the fourth quarter of 1.3 billion Norwegian kroner, risks a tax hit totaling 856 million Norwegian kroner, equivalent to just over 890 million Swedish kronor.
A note in the quarterly report states the tax case that the company has pursued against the Norwegian tax authorities and which the company first mentioned in the annual report for 2018, as noted by E24. It states that Norwegian was rejected by the Tax Appeals Board in a decision made at the end of January, but that the company intends to pursue the case further in court.
The tax case stems from a reorganization of the company in 2013 and 2014 when Norwegian, among other things, formed its Irish company for international long-haul flights, NAI. The reorganization was carried out according to the rules for conditional tax-free reorganizations, but the Norwegian Tax Authority considers this to be incompatible with EU law.
At stake are taxes and interest totaling 856 million Norwegian kroner, expenses that would negatively affect Norwegian's assets, the company laconically points out.
However, the Tax Appeals Board decided in its decision that part of the tax debt should be postponed, and the deadline for the tax has yet to be determined. However, Norwegian hopes to avoid paying it in full.
”"Norwegian and its tax advisors are of the opinion that the decision rests on a weak foundation and that it is likely that it will be changed in court. Therefore, Norwegian has decided to pursue the matter in court," the quarterly report states.
Norwegian shares are trading down 5.3 percent on the Oslo Stock Exchange at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday.
Source: di.se
