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Court orders TV Azteca to pay 2.6 billion peso fine to SAT

Mexico City, Mexico — The Federal Court of Administrative Justice has ordered TV Azteca to pay 2.6 billion peso in taxes and fines to the Tax Administration Service (SAT).

The judicial order was announced Wednesday after the court determined that TV Azteca failed to comply with the provisions of the ISR Law by not reversing the losses from the sale of shares.

The order to pay the 2.6 billion peso was granted after SAT won the legal dispute against TV Azteca. The court ordered the company to pay 2.615 billion peso for Income Tax (ISR), fines and surcharges corresponding to the 2013 fiscal year.

Magistrates determined the grievances of the company, which is owned by Ricardo Salinas Pliego, to be unfounded and ineffective since the tax authority complied with the provisions of the legal framework.

In contrast, TV Azteca failed to comply with the provisions of the ISR Law by not reversing the losses from the sale of shares.

“The plaintiff does not comply with the provisions of Article 32, Section 17 of the Income Tax Law, since he loses sight of the fact that losses from the sale of shares can only be reduced up to the amount of profits. I feel that in the present case, the amount of profits received in 2013 is less than the amount of losses deducted in previous years, so it is obliged to reverse the tax losses for not complying with the requirement established in the reference number.”

On Thursday, Grupo Salinas, who owns TV Azteca, says it plans to appeal the court ruling. In a statement, the company said that the charges were based on an illegal and unfair estimate and that it would appeal to the corresponding authorities following a ruling by the Federal Court of Administrative Justice issued on Wednesday.

“We will continue to exercise our right to defend ourselves in national and international instances, from what we consider erroneous and excessive charges,” said the Mexican company.

This is the second time that a court has ruled in favor of SAT since April, when another dispute with the media group for the alleged failure to pay taxes in 2009 was resolved with another debt for the company. In total, TV Azteca owes SAT more than 5 billion peso.