HP Japan ordered to pay $270 mln back tax -paper

TOKYO, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard Co's Japanese unit was ordered to pay about 23 billion yen ($270 million) in additional tax after authorities ruled it underreported its taxable income, the Asahi daily reported on Wednesday.

The paper said the Tokyo regional tax bureau determined that Hewlett-Packard Japan had failed to declare about 47 billion yen in income over two years to October 2006.

HP Japan had no immediate comment and the tax bureau declined to comment.

HP Japan pays more than 20 billion yen a year to its U.S. parent for administrative work which the tax bureau judged should not have been considered as expenses, the Asahi reported.

The paper said HP Japan had complied with the order and paid the additional tax but was appealing against the Tokyo tax bureau's decision.

The Japanese unit generated about 363 billion yen in sales during the last financial year to October, about 3.5 percent of the parent's group sales, the paper added.

HP, the world's biggest PC maker, had made headlines and was hit with a drop in its share price after CEO Mark Hurd quit over an expense report scandal linked to his relationship with a female contractor.

($1=85.34 Yen)

(Reporting by Sachi Izumi; Editing by Edmund Klamann)

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