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WhichofAustralia'sbiggestcompaniesarenotpayingtax
NassimKhademandCraigButt
Published:December17,20155:21PM
MichaelPascoe:ScottMorrisonwedgeshimself
Multinationaloilandgasgiantspayingnopetroleumresourcerenttax
WhichofAustralia'sbiggestcompaniesarenotpayingtax
Toptencompaniespayingtheleasttax
Outof1539ofAustralia'slargestcorporateentities,38percentdidnotpayanytaxin201314.
TaxCommissionerChrisJordanhasreleasedthetaxdetailsofcorporateentitieswith$100millionormoreannual
turnover985ofwhichareforeignowned,and554ofwhichareAustralianforeignentities.
The1539companieshadacombinedturnoverof$1.6trillioninturnover,$169.9billioninprofit,andpaidacombined
$39.9billionintax.
Therewere579localandforeignbasedcompaniesthatpaidnotaxin201314whichhadacombinedturnoverof$405.9
billionandataxableincomeof$4billion.
Thenilresultiseitherbecausetheydidnotpayanytax,hadoffsetsagainstprofitsthatreducedtheirtaxtozero,or,they
madealoss,whichtheTaxOfficereportsasnil.
Certainindustriesinthe201314incomeyearwerestillrecoveringfromtheglobalfinancialcrisiswithsignificantcarried
forwardlosses,baddebtsorrestructuringactivitiesunderway.
Transfieldwith$2.8billionturnover,hadtaxableincomeof$16million,andzerotax.
Chevron,whichrecentlylostagainsttheATOintheFederalCourt,butwillbechallengingthedecision,hadturnoverof$3
billionbutpaidnottax.
Adani'sAbbotPointTerminalinQueenslandwithaturnoverof$268millionalsopaidnotax.
CSLhad$2.1billionturnover,$160millionintaxableincomeandpaidzerotax,howeverthecompanysaidtheturnover
figureincludedoverseasprofitsalreadytaxed,andtaxowingwasoffsetbycreditsforitsR&DworkinAustralia.
NewsAustralia,whichhadaturnoverof$3.9billionbetweenitsAustralianarms,had$97.2millioninnetincomelastyear
andpaid$4.2millionintax.
teinhoffHoldings(ownedthroughtheNetherlandsandwithkeybrandsFreedom(furniture),Snooze(bedding)andBuy
S
LeatherRepublic)hadatotalincomeof$431million,taxableincomeof$150andpaidnotax.
FairfaxMediahad$1.7billioninturnover,$69.8millioninnetincomeandpaid$16.1millionintax.
Somepaidtax,butmuchnotmuchrelativetoincome.Forinstance,Macquariehadturnoverof$8.1billionbutpaidjust
$127.9millionintax.
MacquarierunsaMarchfinancialyear.IntheyeartoMarch2015itdeclaredthatnetprofitrose27percentfrom$1.28
billionto$1.62billion,aftertaxthatrosefrom$827millionto$899million.
RACVandRACQbothpaidnotaxdespitenetincomesof$119millionand$54.6million.
NappymakerUnicharmAustraliapaidjust$3intaxlastyear(enoughtobuyan80packofitsbabywipes)outofa$10
profit.Ithadaturnoverof$130millionoverthesameperiod.
Taxminimisationnottakenlightly
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LaborSenatorSamDastyari,whohaschairedtheSenateinquiryintocorporatetaxavoidance,toldFairfaxMedia:"It's
timetobringthesepracticestoanend.Itdoesn'tpassthesnifftestthatallthesecompanieshavelegitimatereasonsfor
payingnotax."
HesaidtougherantiavoidancemeasurespassedbytheCoalitiongopartofthewaytostoppingcorporatetaxavoidance,
butitwas"nowherenearenough".
AustralianGreensleaderRichardDiNatalesaid:"theymightbeabletoaffordthebesttaxlawyerstohelpthemstayahead
oftheparliamentbuttheywon'tbeabletoescapethecourtofpublicopinion".
"Itwillnowbeuptothesecompaniestojustifytheirtaxarrangements."
TaxCommissionerChrisJordansaid:"taxshouldmattertothesecompanies"."Itisnotsomethingtobetakenlightly."
While"notaxpaiddoesnotnecessarilymeantaxavoidance",hesaid"anycompanieswithunusualfinancialortaxation
numbersarecloselyinvestigatedbytheATO".
"...Wedohavesomesignificantdisputeswithsomeofthem".
"Someoftheseforeignownedcompaniesareoverlyaggressiveinthewaytheystructuretheiroperations."
TaxJusticeNetworkspokesmanMarkZirnsaksaidmanycompanieshadmadenoefforttoexplaintheirtaxaffairstothe
generalpublicandmanyhadnotfiledfinancialreportswithASIC.
"Anycompanythatnowcomplainsitisfacingtoughquestionsaboutitstaxaffairsonlyhasitselftoblame,"hesaid.
Energyandresourceswerethesectorswiththehighestlevelofnonpayment.FossilfuelcompaniessuchasExxonMobil
Australia,ChevronAustralia,PeabodyAustralia,andWhitehavenareamongthosethatpaidnotaxfor201314,
GreenpeaceAustraliaheadofcampaignsDominiqueRowesaid.
"Whatwe'reseeingisaseriesoftactics,suchascompanieswritingofftheirlosses,inordertoavoidpayingtax,"shesaid.
BCAwarnsagainstmisinterpretation
BusinessCouncilofAustraliachiefexecutiveJenniferWestacottcautionedagainstmisleadinginterpretationsof
data."Companiesdonotpaycompanyincometaxonrevenue(totalincome)theypayitonprofitsafterpayingall
expensesincludingwages,capitalreplacement,suppliercosts,fleetcostsandotheroperatingexpenses,"shesaid.
MsWestacottsaidmanysmallandmediumsizedbusinessesdidnotmakeaprofitinagivenyear,"andevenlarge
businessesgothroughcycleswhereprofitsfromlargeinvestmentstaketimetoberealised".
Shesaidthecompanieslistedaccountedfor$40billionofthe$67billionincompanytaxpaidin201314.
AustralianChamberofCommerceandIndustrybossKateCarnellsaid:"Wemustfacethefactthatweakereconomic
conditionsarehurtingthebottomlineformanybusinessesandit'snotsurprisingthatlossmakingcompaniesarenotliable
forprofittaxes."
ATOchallengingaggressivearrangements
TheATOwouldcontinuetochallengethemoreaggressivearrangements."Weareresoluteaboutensuringcompaniesare
notunreasonablyplayingontheedge,"MrJordansaid."Iftheydo,theycanexpecttobechallenged."
AsFairfaxMediareported,overhalfofthecompaniesonthelisthavebeensubjecttoATOrevieworauditoverthepast
threeyears.
HesaidthefederalgovernmentwasworkingwiththeBoardofTaxationtogofurtheranddevelopavoluntarycodesothat
companiescantelltheirowntaxstory.
"Largecorporatesnowhavetoconsidertheimpactoftheirtaxinformationasafactorinmanagingtheirreputationwith
themarkets,theirshareholders,theirconsumersandintheAustraliancommunity,"hesaid.
TheATO'slististheresultoftaxdisclosurelawspassedundertheformerLaborgovernmentthatrequirethe
Commissionertopublishthetaxdetailsofpubliccompanieswith$100millionormoreannualturnover.
Thetaxinformationofabout300privatecompanieswillbereportedinMarchnextyear.
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