Pirelli intends to establish an office in Paraguay, and may use this as a starting point for establishing a greater presence within the country. The official website of the President of Paraguay, Horacio Cartes, reports that the head of state met with Pirelli Latin America executive president Paolo Dal Pino at the Government Palace in Asunción yesterday. Dal Pino was accompanied by Italy’s ambassador to Paraguay, Antonella Cavallari.
In a regulatory filing submitted to the Korea Stock Exchange, Hankook Tire reports sales of KRW 1,708.5 billion (£953.8 million) for the fourth quarter of 2013, a year-on-year increase of 0.5 per cent. Operating income, at KRW 254.8 billion (£142.2 million), was up 14.6 per cent compared to the fourth quarter of 2012. Net profit from continuing operations (before corporate income tax) was reported as KRW 237.0 billion (£132.3 million), a 15.1 per cent year-on-year increase. Net income was not reported.
A famous saying posits that nothing is certain except for death and taxes, but Nokian Tyres may argue that taxes and then further taxes are more certain. Following on from the reassessment and €26.9 million bill received in December for the 2007 financial year, Nokian Tyres announced on 21 January that Finland’s Tax Administration has also reassessed Nokian’s tax for the years 2008 to 2010. According to this reassessment, the tyre maker must pay an extra €73.3 million tax and interest (€51.0 million of which is tax) for these three years. Payment must be made in February 2014.
On 31 December, Carlisle Companies Incorporated announced it had completed the cash sale of Carlisle Transportation Products to American Industrial Partners; an enterprise value of US$375 million was paid for the tyre, wheel and transmission belt manufacturer.
On 30 December, Nokian Tyres received the unwelcome news that a reassessment made by Finland’s Tax Administration has determined the company must pay €26.9 million in additional taxes, plus punitive tax increases and interest, for the year 2007. The full amount will be recorded in Nokian’s 2013 financial statement and results. The company says it will appeal the ruling, however should it be upheld Nokian’s corporate tax rate will rise over the next five years to the maximum rate of 22 per cent, rather than to the previously announced 17 per cent.
Just under a century after its introduction, Chancellor George Osborne has announce announced that tax discs will be withdrawn in favour of the electronic register already in operation. Of course, this doesn’t mean an end to vehicle excise duty (VED), just the system by which it is administered. An increase in the use of ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) equipment is expected in order to enforce the paperless tax regime. The changes due to take effect in October 2014.
The Freight Transport Association has written to the Chancellor of the Exchequer ahead of his Autumn Statement on 5 December, asking him to confirm his commitment to freeze fuel duty until 2015 in order to stimulate economic growth and give businesses confidence to invest in the future.
The Chancellor, George Osborne, has shown a continuous reluctance to increase fuel duty, and in his speech to the Conservative party conference in September he said that he wanted to freeze fuel duty for the rest of this Parliament. However, this came with the significant caveat “provided we can find the savings to pay for it.”
In Italy, the Guardia di Finanza (Fiscal Police) have arrested two brothers who are active within the tyre industry for tax evasion of more than €30 million; the two men allegedly falsified invoices in order to fraudulently represent the amount of tax, VAT and customs duties they were required to pay. According to PneusNews.it, our sister publication in Italy, one of the brothers, Vincenzo Tufano is in prison while Giovanni Tufano is under house arrest.
India’s Ceat Limited has reported a nine per cent growth in year-on-year revenues for the quarter ending 30 September 2013. On a standalone basis, revenues in this second quarter of the company’s financial year rose to Rs 12.63 billion (£127.6 million). Pre-tax profit rose from Rs 41 million in the second quarter of 2012 to Rs 1.1 billion (£11.1 million) in the most recent quarter. EBITDA for the second quarter of the 2014 financial year stood at 13.1 per cent, compared with 6.7 per cent in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
In July, Carlisle Companies announced it was seeking “strategic alternatives” for its Carlisle Transportation Products (CTP) business after it recorded a non-cash pre-tax loss of $100 million due to goodwill impairment during the second quarter of 2013. This strategic alternative turned out to be a divestment; this week the company said the tyre and wheel business has been purchased by American Industrial Partners for an enterprise value of US$375 million. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2014.
On 5 September, representatives from Kumho and leaders of Macon-Gibb County in the US state of Georgia jointly announced that an agreement has been reached that will allow the tyre maker’s Kumho Tire Georgia, Inc. unit to begin construction of its tyre plant. Kumho will initially invest around US$200 million to build the plant on a 150 acre site within the Sofkee Industrial Parklocated in Macon, Georgia. The plant will employ more than 300 people and mainly service the North American markets.
Various news sources are reporting that leading Chinese domestic tyre manufacturer Triangle Tire is taking its international operations to the next level with the investment of some 250 million euros in a new tyre factory in the Western Russian Republic of Bashkortostan. The unconfirmed reports suggest that the new plant will be built in one of two areas near Sterlitamak and that the government is offering Triangle a subsidy that will save the company as much as 10 years’ property tax.
A motorist who claimed to have taken so much Viagra he could not leave the house was just one of a number of excuses from people who failed to tax their car.
According to information released by DVLA, motorists caught for not having a tax disc last year used a variety of excuses, which included "My mate said that if the cost of the tax is more than what the car's worth you haven't got to pay it."
One motorist claimed to have fallen out of a tree while fruit picking and broke both arms so they could not fill in the necessary forms, while one motorist even blamed their mobile phone.
The Department for Transport (DfT) hgas announced plans to merge the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) and the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) into a single agency. According to the announcement, these services will be delivered by the two agencies under a single chief executive and transitional board from July this year.
A deal signed between Compagnie Financière Groupe Michelin and PT Petrokimia Butadiene Indonesia (PBI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of PT Chandra Asri Petrochemical Tbk (CAP), will see the production of styrene and butadiene-derived synthetic rubber taking place in Indonesia through a joint venture firm. The agreement gives Michelin 55 per cent ownership in the new company, with PBI holding the remainder. The total investment is estimated to be US$435 million, with plant construction expected to commence in early 2015. Completion and start-up is targeted for the beginning of 2017.
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