BAT's tobacco tax payments were worth as much as NZ government returns from all SOEs in 2011. Photo / File
British American Tobacco Holdings (New Zealand), the local unit of the maker of Benson & Hedges, Dunhill and Lucky Strike cigarettes, paid $801.2 million in excise tax last year, as much as the government reaped from all 16 state-owned enterprises, its accounts show.
Profit rose 4.1 per cent to $120.7
million in calendar 2011, according to the Auckland-based company's financial statements lodged with the Companies Office. Sales slipped to $1.06 billion from $1.08 billion a year earlier, meaning three quarters of its revenue went to the government. It also paid $32.9 million in company tax.
The cost of sales increased to $864.3 million from $850.1 million. BAT spent $49.9 million buying finished goods from related parties and built its inventory to $338.2 million as at December 31, from $220.1 million a year earlier.
In March, BAT cut a deal with the Inland Revenue Department over historic tax avoidance, where the tobacco company used cross-border structured finance transactions that exploited loopholes in New Zealand's international tax law.
The tobacco distributer agreed to pay $15.6 million in tax and interest of $6.3 million, having previously provided in its accounts for almost $40 million.
