The VW logo is seen on the front of one of dozens of new Passats made at the Chattanooga Volkswagen assembly plant parked outside the plant. These cars will be used as demos for testing, internal quality control and press test drives.Porsche Automobil Holding SE said it wants to complete the sale of the remaining 50.1 percent stake in its sports car business to Volkswagen AG as fast as possible once all examinations have been finalized. It dismissed allegations by politicians that a tax-free deal before August 2014 would be disadvantageous for German taxpayers, according to Fox News.
"The opposite is true. The state would benefit significantly through higher tax income," Porsche Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn said in a prepared speech at the German firm's shareholder meeting. Winterkorn is also CEO at Volks-wagen.
Porsche can sell the stake tax-free to Volkswagen in August 2014 by exercising a call option, but Winterkorn noted waiting that long "doesn't help anyone involved." He said the companies would be able to reap more economies of scale faster through an earlier deal, and higher earnings would lead to higher tax payments before August 2014.
VW already owns a 49.9 percent stake in Porsche's sports car business.
State ECD creates new website
The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development has launched a new website where the public can access public information and documents about ECD grants and incentives.
"These documents have always been available to the public, but we wanted to make them more easily accessible to the public," said Bill Hagerty, ECD commissioner.
The website is www.openecd.tn.gov/.