Philip Morris Execs Charged With Tax Fraud

Eleven Philip Morris Cos. executives were charged by Italian prosecutors with evading corporate taxes on income of as much as $5.9 billion over the last decade. Naples prosecutor Raffaele Marino charged Walter Thoma, former head of Philip Morris’ international tobacco business, and 10 other executives with “fiscal fraud.” According to the indictment, Philip Morris had “income, gains and other positive revenue that” weren’t declared from 1987 to March 1996. New York-based Philip Morris said in a statement that it “remains confident its affiliates and employees have complied with Italian tax laws.” The dispute stems from a dispute over how to tax royalties paid to a Philip Morris unit for cigarettes sold by the government’s tobacco monopoly.