Salinas Group Tax Debts Headed for Supreme Court Decision

The Supreme Court of Justice of the nation (SCJN) will soon rule on nine outstanding tax debts owed by Grupo Salinas, totaling 48.382 billion pesos. Prosecutor Grisel Galeano explained the group exploited fiscal consolidation rules, combining company losses to minimize tax payments.

Yesterday, Galeano detailed a pattern of tax avoidance involving four companies within the group. These companies improperly used or inflated losses to reduce their tax burden.

The amounts owed cover a notable period, with some debts outstanding for up to ten years.

While the Tax Administration Service (SAT) has won most of these cases at the initial stages, aggressive legal challenges by Grupo Salinas have prolonged the process. Now, a final resolution from the Court is expected.

Galeano described how Grupo Salinas operated through these four companies, without naming them directly. She cited “Company 1,” wich owes 24.968 billion pesos as of 2013.The SAT discovered that after the 2014 fiscal reform ended certain benefits, the company failed to reverse losses previously used to lower taxes in 2008, 2010, 2011, and 2012.

The company also didn’t return a tax benefit it had already improperly used, resulting in a payment plan spanning 17 years, according to the prosecutor.