Two reports on company taxation show that more than a third of the largest companies operating in Australia paid no tax in 2014–15 and that multinational tax evasion cost an estimated $4.8 billion that year. These reports show the fraud of the claims being made by the Australian government and… – Continue reading
The Australian government shouldn’t rely on leaks like that of the Panama Papers to pick up on tax evasion, it should consider stronger action. The federal government showed some leadership earlier this year by announcing the establishment of a public register of beneficial ownership of companies, with the aim of… – Continue reading
Malcolm Turnbull will push for a crackdown on multinational tax avoidance when he meets with world leaders at the G20 summit in China. But Labor have accused Mr Turnbull of not having a strong plan for confronting corporate tax avoidance at home, let alone abroad. The prime minister will arrive… – Continue reading
Australia is following the path of the United Kingdom and is planning to create a public register that will unmask the shell company owners who take advantage of tax avoidance by the international companies. The Guardian reported that the Canberra government has expressed on making a public commitment to put… – Continue reading
The leaders of Australia’s federal, state, and territory governments have failed to reach an agreement on a proposal to enable the states to levy income tax. The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) met on April 1. Ahead of the meeting, Federal Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had proposed that the federal… – Continue reading
Only the little people pay taxes. For a small, select cohort of rich Australians, the famous quote of New York property billionaire Leona Helmsley rings not as an outrage but as an inspiration. In the most recent documents released by the Australian Tax Office, there were 55 people who had… – Continue reading
If the apparent demise of the Coalition’s push to increase the GST shows anything, it’s that Australians are unwilling to accept tax reform unless it is obviously fair. It is right to think that rich people should pay more tax than the poor. Happiness studies show an extra dollar means… – Continue reading
Surge in revenue foregone by exempting family home from capital gains tax – largely driven by higher property prices – fuels fiscal policy debate The budget cost of tax breaks on family homes has reached nearly $55bn a year, fuelling debate about alternative options as the Turnbull government prepares its… – Continue reading
Treasurer says possibility of an increase needs to be on table if voters want relief from the effects of ‘bracket creep’ in income tax Scott Morrison has opened the political new year softening Australians up for an increase in the GST, arguing that reform needs to be on the table… – Continue reading
An Australian Taxation Office (ATO) report issued last month on “corporate tax transparency” showed that 1,539 of the country’s biggest firms had a combined turnover of $1.6 trillion but paid a total of only $39.9 billion in company tax—about 2.5 percent of the collective turnover. Five hundred and seventy-nine of… – Continue reading
The Australian Government’s efforts to improve tax collections are more urgent amid falling revenue from weak commodity prices, the Wall Street Journal reports Malcolm Turnbull’s government took the rare step of making public the tax affairs of scores of multinationals, highlighting that many big names—including Apple Inc. and Volkswagen AG… – Continue reading
Private companies that were given a historical exemption from filing annual financial reports are run by a who’s who of corporate Australia, including Malcolm Turnbull Private companies associated with Australia’s business elite, including prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, are on a list of entities not required to publish tax information under… – Continue reading
Some people think popular furniture store IKEA is being naughty, and not paying its proper share of tax in Australia. The franchise is a behemoth, both literally in terms of store size and figuratively in that it collected a US$5 billion profit for the 2014 financial year. A community action… – Continue reading
What does Uber mean for Canberra? Journalist Henry Belot explains how Uber will work in the ACT and what it means for passengers and drivers. Uber and Airbnb will be dragged before the Senate inquiry into corporate tax avoidance this week to face questions about tax structures that allow them… – Continue reading
Malcolm Turnbull: Tax reform must be fair Fairness is critical to the success of any tax reform, says Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull during his first keynote economic address in Melbourne. Courtesy ABC News 24. GST hike to hit poor hard and leave rich unscathed: research Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says… – Continue reading
The federal government will be seeking the opposition’s support for new laws that crack down on tax-dodging multinationals but Labor looks to be on its own pursuing Malcolm Turnbull over his offshore investments. There are hopes that the four-day sitting of the lower house starting on Monday will also bring… – Continue reading
Labor has urged Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to sell out of his hedge fund investments in the Cayman Islands, in an escalation of its attack in Parliament this week. Despite criticism his party had stooped to the “politics of envy”, NSW Senator Sam Dastyari told Fairfax Media on Friday that… – Continue reading
