Resource Capital Funds & Australia Tax Office Agree to Settle Court Dispute

Resource Capital Funds and Australia tax office agreed to settle a civil dispute, less than two weeks after private equity firm based in Denver criticized the authority's handling of the case.

The Australian Tax Office and Resource Capital Fund III, LP, a fund company to buy ", has reached an agreement to resolve outstanding issues relating to current procedures," they said in a joint statement e-mailed today. He said if the agreement includes a financial settlement.

The Australian newspaper said Dec. 4 that the tax office had frozen the local assets of Capital Resources, based in its structure may allow offshore to avoid taxes. The ATO was seeking $ 43 million (42.8 million U.S. dollars) in taxes, penalties and interest, the newspaper said, citing court documents in Perth, Western Australia.

Capital Resources, which invests exclusively in mining, said this month that its structure complies with tax regulations in Australia, calling the ATO's conduct "deplorable." The company said it has taken "full and open" talks with the authorities if they had been contacted before court proceedings.