Australia’s Tax Office Is Targeting 86 Multinationals Over Profit-Shifting
In an attempt to stop multinationals shifting profits overseas Australia’s Tax Office is launching a task force to investigate 86 large corporations’ tax activities.
The tax office is looking into companies that use complex structures to move profits through tax havens as well as those that are using thin capitalisation, the AFR reports.
According to the AFR the ATO’s deputy commissioner Mark Konza said the special unit has already narrowed its investigations down from a possible 233 companies, saying there could be audits in the future.
No companies are named in the report but tech giants such as Apple and Google have repeatedly been in the spotlight for the low levels of tax they pay against their profits in Australia. The 86 companies identified are all large corporations operating in Australia conducting considerable amounts of cross-border transactions.
“We have identified an initial 86 cases where we will review structures and arrangements to see if they represent an inappropriate shifting of profits outside of Australia,” Konza told the AFR.
Credit: Business Insider
