Some 600 of the biggest firms operating in Australia, including Qantas and Glencore, paid no income tax in the 2013-14 financial year, data showed on Thursday as the government vowed to keep targeting loopholes.
There has been a global push, including in Australia, for large local and multinational companies to stop using sophisticated structures to avoid or lower their tax payments, which has seen governments lose billions in revenue.
The tax details of around 1,500 large corporations were released by the Australian Taxation Office as a “step forward in improving corporate tax transparency”, its Commissioner Chris Jordan said in a statement. While Jordan said companies that did not incur a tax bill were not necessarily avoiding payments, he warned multinational firms — some of which fronted a parliamentary inquiry this year on tax minimisation — that their “aggressive arrangements” would be scrutinised.
“Some of these foreign-owned companies are overly aggressive in the way they structure their operations,” he said. “We will continue to challenge the more aggressive arrangements to show that we are resolute about ensuring companies are not unreasonably playing on the edge. If they do, they can expect to be challenged.” Britain in March introduced a so-called “Google tax” on firms that divert profits overseas, while Australia recently passed a law to lift transparency requirements that would also see disclosures required for private companies with turnover of Aus 200 million (US 144 million).