The Australian Tax Office has updated and added to its list of the guidance on international tax matters it intends to release this year. This month, the ATO intends to release a guide on corporate residency – central management and control in Australia [reference code 3838], to provide the ATO’s… – Continue reading
Four of the world’s largest companies have been under investigation by Australian tax authorities, amid new evidence from US executives about how Facebook, Google, Apple and Microsoft are shifting money to offshore tax havens. Appearing before a highly anticipated public hearing into corporate tax evasion, the executives endured questions about… – Continue reading
The federal government has pledged to create more fairness for businesses and “level the playing field” through a series of budget measures directed at tackling Australia’s so-called “black economy”. The government gave its “black economy taskforce” the job of investigating how individuals and businesses use cash payments in December 2016,… – Continue reading
Multinational companies are now paying tax based on their Australian profits instead of shifting income to low-tax countries, officials say. CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA—Facebook, Google and other multinational companies are now paying tax in Australia based on their Australian profits instead of shifting income to low-tax countries since the government cracked down… – Continue reading
Treasurer Scott Morrison will launch a fresh attack on tax avoidance this week in Parliament in a bid to get the so-called “Google Tax” pushed through and shift public attention towards the Coalition’s record on multinational tax crackdowns. The Diverted Profits Tax is due to be debated this week, almost… – Continue reading
A showdown between the Australian Taxation Office and the nation’s largest companies including Chevron, Crown and BHP Billiton is looming as the tax man hits seven large companies with tax bills amounting to $2 billion. On Friday, the ATO released its corporate tax transparency report for 2014-15, which includes limited… – Continue reading
When introducing the draft legislation for the Diverted Profits or so-called “Google Tax”, Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison claimed it would: …reinforce Australia’s position as having amongst the toughest laws in the world to combat corporate tax avoidance. Australia is the second country to introduce this type of tax, after the… – Continue reading
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has published two new taxpayer alerts that warn against international profit shifting by multinational companies. Taxpayer Alert 2016/11 concerns a new scheme that the ATO said attempts to avoid the Multinational Anti-Avoidance Law (MAAL). The MAAL applies to multinational groups that avoid a taxable presence… – Continue reading
Back in July, ABC’s The Business and Michael West featured an extraordinary raft of allegations from a 32-year veteran industry insider turned whistleblower, George Rozvany, who claimed that multinational tax avoidance was “out of control” and cost the Budget up to $50 billion dollars a year in lost revenue. Rozvany… – Continue reading
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has issued a series of taxpayer alerts that caution large companies against using contrived arrangements to avoid their tax obligations. The first alert concerns arrangements where Australian consolidated groups use offshore permanent establishments that have entered into intra-group transactions. Deputy Commissioner Jeremy Hirschhorn explained: “Through… – Continue reading
Australia announced a further crackdown on multinational tax avoidance in its annual budget on Tuesday, including the planned introduction of a UK-style diverted profits tax (DPT), that it expects to raise A$3.9 billion over the next four years. The government is creating a new Tax Avoidance Taskforce of 1,000 specialist… – Continue reading
Many serious reforms have been implemented, and very strong Federal political will, together with strong state-based political consensus, will be needed for any further tax reform in 2016. Over the last couple of years, there has been a lot of talk about tax reform, notably base erosion profit shifting (BEPS)… – Continue reading
