PepsiCo Disputes Tax Liability in Australia High Court (Correct)

The plain language of PepsiCo’s contracts to make and sell its beverages in Australia backs up the company’s contention that the arrangement didn’t include taxable royalties, a PepsiCo Inc. attorney told Australia’s top court Thursday.

The High Court should look at the actual agreement involving PepsiCo and the Singapore affiliate of the company that sold beverage concentrate to an Australian bottler, PepsiCo’s counsel Eugene Wheelahan told the Australian High Court.

The deal was tightly negotiated and included a fixed price for the concentrate that specifically included “royalty-free” access to PepsiCo’s trademarks and other intellectual property, Wheelahan said—despite the Australian ...