SYDNEY, June 23 -- German supermarket chain Aldi angrily responded on Tuesday to recent insinuations from rival Wesfarmers boss Richard Goyder that it might be avoiding tax in Australia.

Aldi termed the comments made Monday by the boss of the company which owns supermarket giant Coles "misinformed and factually incorrect".

In response to the attacks, Aldi has, for the first time, released some financial information about its recent performance in Australia, News Corp reported.

That release showed Aldi's local sales reached 6 billion Australian dollars (4.62 billion U.S. dollars) in the 12 months to December 2014, compared with 5.3 billion Australian dollars (4.08 billion U.S. dollars) in 2013.

The 13 percent leap easily beat rates at rivals Woolworths and Coles, which have struggled to hit 5 percent sales growth in the same time and underlines the increasingly huge threat posed to local retailers by Aldi.

The stakes are set to rise as Aldi prepares for a push into South Australia and Western Australia after capturing 11 percent of the Australian east coast.

The Coles and Woolworths duopoly have dominated the Australian supermarket sector, but in the past 12 months Aldi has turned the tables on them 14 years after it began here.

In a media statement on Tuesday, the German discounter hit back at Goyder's comments, saying the company's average corporate tax rate for the last three years was almost 31 percent of net profit.

Since launching in Australia in 2001, Aldi has opened more than 350 stores, but to date its financial performance had remained a mystery with the retailer's filings with ASIC almost impossible to penetrate.

The German retailer's tax affairs were thrown into the spotlight Monday by Goyder who, at a lunch held by the American Chamber of Commerce, questioned whether Aldi was paying its rightful level of tax.

Wesfarmers owns the nation's second biggest supermarket chain in Coles, as well as hardware chain Bunnings and retail outlets Target, Officeworks and Kmart.

Recent suggestions by one of Aldi Australia's major competitors that Aldi may not be paying its fair share of tax are "misinformed and factually incorrect," Aldi said in its statement.

"Aldi Australia also refutes any and all claims that it is not compliant with Australian taxation regulations. Aldi has established an independent operation in the Australian market and meets all of the taxation requirements of state and federal governments."