NIK accuses Hortex of cheating gov't of zl. 66 million

Almost zl. 66 million has been lost to the Treasury and local government because of the activities of Hortex Sp. z o.o. and Hortex Holding S.A. The Supreme Board of Inspection (NIK) says they disregarded tax regulations and calculated incorrectly the income tax and value-added tax (VAT). "Hortex is at present on the edge of bankruptcy," said the deputy of NIK Zbigniew Wesolowski. NIK inspectors decided tax regulations were bypassed during the transfer of operating activities from Hortex Sp. z o.o. to Hortex Holding S.A. by lowering the value of the first firm in comparison to book values thereby decreasing the amount of the taxable income. According to NIK this allowed Hortex Holding S.A. to deduct investment spending for acquiring a company at the amount of zl. 52.2 million between 1998-2003 and also allowed an investment premium deduction. (Prawo i Gospodarka, page 1, 8) M.M.