The fifth annual report on corporate tax transparency has been released by the ATO. The report provides insights into the operation of the corporate tax system and the tax affairs of the country’s largest companies.
Click here to read the report
Under law, the ATO is required to publish tax information reported to it by certain large companies each year. This year’s tax transparency report covers 2,214 corporate entities, of which:
- 1,197 are foreign-owned companies with an income of $100 million or more
- 1,017 are Australian public or private entities, of which
- 594 are Australian public entities with an income of $100 million or more
- 423 are Australian-owned resident private companies with an income of $200 million or more.
Many companies also provide additional information about their tax affairs as part of the Board of Taxation’s voluntary Tax Transparency Code.
The ATO’s Deputy Commissioner Rebecca Saint said the latest report, which covers the 2017-18 income year, includes tax information of more than 2,200 entities and shows combined total income tax paid of $52.3 billion.
“Significantly, over $7 billion of sales income is now being booked in Australia as a result of companies restructuring in response to the Multinational Anti-Avoidance Law (MAAL),” she says.
Saint says that the paying of minimal or zero tax may be a result of companies making a loss, utilising losses from prior years or having projects operating in start-up phase. “However, groups that consistently report losses or unusually low taxable income are more likely to attract ATO attention,” she says. Readmore
