Coca-Cola Co. has announced that it will pay $6 billion in back taxes and interest to the Internal Revenue Service as it continues to appeal a final federal tax court decision from a case dating back 17 years.
The Atlanta beverage giant stated that it is confident in its legal dispute regarding taxes and interest owed for the years 2007, 2008, and 2009, which the IRS claims the company owes.
“The company is eager to begin the appellate process and, as part of that process, will pay the agreed-upon liability and interest,” a company spokesperson said in a statement. Coca-Cola spokesperson Scott Leith declined to provide further comment to The Associated Press.
U.S. Tax Court Judge Albert Lauber issued a brief decision and order concluding his review of the case. The disagreement was brought to court in December 2015 after the company informed the IRS that it owed an additional $3.3 billion in federal taxes and interest for those three years.
In its statement on Friday, Coca-Cola criticized the IRS for altering the way it permitted the company to calculate U.S. income based on profits exceeding $9 billion from foreign licensees and affiliates.
An IRS representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment from AP regarding the case.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2015, Coca-Cola mentioned that it had been using the same method to calculate its taxable U.S. income from foreign affiliates for almost three decades.
In a recent quarterly report filed with the SEC, Coca-Cola stated that it believes the IRS and Lauber misinterpreted and misapplied the applicable regulations in reallocating income earned by the company’s foreign licensees.
The company anticipates that “some or all of the $6 billion, plus accrued interest, would be refunded” if it prevails in its appeal. The company has 90 days to submit appeal documents.
Following a stronger-than-expected second quarter, Coca-Cola recently raised its full-year sales forecast, attributing the increase to product price hikes.