Global tax avoidance ‘is sending wrong message’

GLOBAL firms’ growing ability to avoid company tax by shifting their intellectual property to low-tax countries could undermine Australians’ respect for the tax system, causing greater leakage of revenue, a senior Treasury official warned yesterday.

Rob Heferen, head of revenue at the federal Treasury, also said Australia’s massive reliance on corporate tax will harm economic growth, and government could not expect to raise more by removing exemptions and deductions.