SoftBank Group failed to report $285m in income to tax bureau

Case highlights differing opinions over tax treatment of M&A expenses

As mergers and acquisitions become more common globally, companies and tax authorities are tussling over how to treat related expenses.

Nikkei staff writers

January 24, 2023 18:11 JST

TOKYO -- SoftBank Group failed to declare about 37 billion yen ($285 million) in corporate income for the two years through the year ended March 31, 2021, according to a finding by the Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau, Nikkei has learned.

The tech investor is believed to have overstated the cost of transactions related to the merger of its U.S. mobile communications company, Sprint, with another U.S. company, according to people familiar with the matter.