Rio Tinto to Dispute Australian Tax Office Penalty

By Adam Clark

Rio Tinto PLC said Thursday that it intends to dispute a penalty levied by the Australian Tax Office relating to borrowings for an intragroup dividend.

The mining company said the ATO levied a penalty of 352 million Australian dollars ($258.2 million) and reduced the original interest assessment from A$47 million to A$27 million.

"Borrowing to fund the payment of a dividend is a normal commercial practice. Rio Tinto is confident of its position and will dispute the primary tax and penalty assessments," the company said.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

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