Prosecutors on Friday indicted a former managing director of Microsoft Co., the Japanese subsidiary of Microsoft Corp., on tax evasion charges.
The Nagano District Public Prosecutor's Office accused Shinji Tokutake, 50, of evading about 290 million yen in taxes by failing to declare some 800 million yen in income from stock-option profits in 1999 and 2000, prosecutors said.
According to the prosecutors, Tokutake made 800 million yen during the two years on stock options he purchased from the parent firm, but concealed the profit by using U.S. bank accounts and failing to declare the taxable income.
The Kanto Shinetsu Regional Taxation Bureau filed a criminal complaint of tax evasion against Tokutake last month.
Tokutake is currently residing in Tokyo, but lived in Nagano Prefecture during the two years in question, making Nagano Prefecture the place he should have paid the taxes.
He joined Microsoft as head of the business department, became an executive in 1997 and resigned last October.
Stock options, which are the right to buy or sell a stock at a specified price within a stated period, are used by companies to reward employees.
Japan lifted restrictions on stock options when it amended the Commercial Code in June 1997.