Olympus fails to declare $124m of income

Tax officials have found that Olympus Corp. failed to declare 10.3 billion yen (about 124 million U.S. dollars) in taxable earnings over a five-year period, following transactions between its domestic and United Kingdom- based companies. According to the tax officials here, Olympus is estimated to owe 1.47 billion yen in back payments, excluding those already paid in Britain. The Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau had initially only charged the camera maker 4.9 billion yen in back taxes, sources with knowledge of the matter said Thursday. The tax regulatory body implied that Olympus, who also makes and exports precision instruments including endoscopes, had knowingly transferred taxable income overseas, as the sales price of its products were favorable due to the currency exchange market. Olympus, for its part, denies the allegations and said it will file an official objection to the claims. The company's image has been tainted since 2011 when former chief executive Michael Woodford, a British national, was fired for uncovering shady accounting transactions that covered up the company's massive losses. Woodford won a 10 million pound (about 15.4 million U.S. dollars) settlement from Olympus in a British court last year. He had initially sued for unlawful dismissal and discrimination. Earlier this year, a former Olympus president and two other executives were convicted in a Tokyo court for their role in the cover-up of investment losses, which surfaced after whistle-blower Woodford came forward. The executives avoided prison sentences, but Olympus was fined 700 million yen (about 7 million U.S. dollars) over the fraudulent cover-up.