Business
First Majestic Silver Responds to Inaccurate Media Reports and Provides Update on Tax Dispute with the Government of Mexico
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 10, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FIRST MAJESTIC SILVER CORP. (AG: NYSE; FR: TSX) (the "Company" or “First Majestic”) today respon
About this update from First Majestic Silver Corp.
[{"type":"text","content":" VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 10, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FIRST MAJESTIC SILVER CORP. (AG: NYSE; FR: TSX) (the \"Company\" or “First Majestic”) today responds to the several inaccurate and misleading Mexican media articles that have been recently published regarding the ongoing tax dispute with the Government of Mexico. In order to be transparent regarding the facts surrounding the Company’s decision to file a NAFTA Request for Arbitration and for the benefit of those loyal and interested shareholders and stakeholders, the Company wishes to provide an update and a status summary of the tax dispute: First Majestic is a Canadian public company that pays its taxes in accordance with domestic legislation in Canada and Mexico and to the Company’s knowledge is up to date in all its tax payments. First Majestic acquired Primero Empresa Minera, S.A. de C.V. (“PEM”), the owner of the San Dimas Silver/Gold Mine in May 2018, via the acquisition of Primero Mining Corp. (“Primero”). Mr. Keith Neumeyer, President and CEO of First Majestic Silver, was not the CEO of PEM prior to its purchase in May 2018. In 2010 and under prior ownership, PEM acquired the San Dimas mine and assumed all obligations under a pre-existing streaming agreement with Wheaton Precious Metals (“WPM”) dating back to 2004, whereby PEM was required to sell most of the silver production from the San Dimas mine to WPM at US$4.00 per ounce. To provide certainty of tax treatment for sales under the streaming agreement, PEM entered into an Advance Pricing Agreement (“APA”), with the Mexican government in October 2012 and obtained a ruling from the Mexican tax authorities confirming the APA for the years of 2010 to 2014. The APA confirmed that taxes payable by PEM under the streaming agreement would be calculated on the basis of the actual realized revenue and not on the basis of market prices. During the years in question, 2010 to 2014, taxable income for PEM was as follows: Tax year Taxable income (loss) MXP FX Rate Taxable income (loss) USD 2010 (127,062,692 ) 12.64 (10,055,071 ) 2011 (509,666,527 ) 12.43 (41,011,871 ) 2012 105,377,951 13.17 8,002,255 2013 53,214,284 12.77 4,167,960 2014 606,694,840 13.30 45,622,018 Total 128,557,856 6,725,292 Over the period in question PEM had a combined net earnings befo...