Microsoft Corp.’s share price down, said to be imposed an over $150 million fine by the Chinese government for tax evasion

According to a person with knowledge of the matter, Microsoft Corp. was required to pay more than $150 million by the Chinese government. The U.S.-based company is considered to have been charged in back taxes and interest by the government at a time when China is focusing on what the authorities call a foreign companies tax evasion.

The official news agency Xinhua revealed that the Chinese government imposed a tax of 840 million yuan ($137 million) on an unnamed U.S. company, only hinting that the name of the company starts with “M”. On the other hand, Microsoft itself disproved the claims of the article, saying that it agreed to pay taxes, which amount to $140 million as a “bilateral advanced pricing agreement”.

The company said in a statement, cited by the Financial Times: “In 2012, the tax authorities of China and the US agreed to a bilateral advanced pricing agreement with regards to Microsoft’s operations in China. The agreement is an acknowledgement by both countries that Microsoft’s profits are subject to the appropriate tax in China.”

As reported by the Financial Times, the U.S.-company also stated: “While we cannot confirm that Microsoft is the company in question in a recent Xinhua report, China receives tax revenue from Microsoft consistent with the terms of the agreed advanced pricing agreement.”

According to the state-run Xinhua News Agency, the payments were detailed in a report dated November 23rd. The case was reported to have been the largest one since China became part of an international anti-tax-evasion program in 2013. Now it comes after a number of actions undertaken by regulatory and law enforcement authorities.

Microsoft Corp. was down 0.25% to close at $47.47 per share yesterday, marking a one-year increase of 26.12%. The company is valued at $392.28 billion. The companys shares traded at €38.130 in Frankfurt as of 13:15 GMT. According to CNN Money, the 32 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for Microsoft Corp. have a median target of $50.00, with a high estimate of $56.00 and a low estimate of $34.00. The median estimate represents a +5.33% increase from the last price of $47.47.