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Crack down on tax dodging

You paid more tax last year than 679 major companies.

The Tax Office revealed that over one in three major companies, including one in two foreign companies, paid no tax in Australia in 2014-15.

The list of companies that paid no tax includes lots of major dirty energy companies like Chevron and ExxonMobil, and the company that runs offshore detention centres, Transfield Services (now Broadspectrum).

Incredibly, this information comes out as Treasurer Morrison says "show us the alternatives" to his $1.7 billion cuts to aged care and Medicare late last year. And tax advisors have revealed that if multinational corporations refuse to open their books to the tax office they will be fined a measly $3000.

Here's an alternative to harsh cuts - start with making sure all of these companies are paying the tax they should.

Sign the petition to join the campaign to end corporate tax dodging.
See details of the full list here here
The report by the Tax Justice Network, 'Who Pays for Our Common Wealth? Tax Practices of the ASX 200' raises a lot of questions about whether our top companies are paying their fare share. Due to limited information about offshore subsidiaires and where companies make their profits, it's hard to be sure of anything, and that's one thing that needs to change.

With those limitations in mind, here are some key findings of the TJN report:
  • Australian companies have an average effective tax rate of 23% – well below the corporate tax rate of 30%
  • 29% have an effective tax rate of 10% or less
  • 14% have an effective tax rate of 0%
This amounts to a potential loss of billions in annual revenue compared to the 30% tax rate. In 2013, 57% of ASX 200 companies disclosed subsidiaries in secretive jurisdictions (tax havens) – but this could be much higher as reporting is not mandatory.

Here are some of the key recommendations of the report:
  • Increase fines for tax avoidance and extend laws to effectively cover the full range of corporate tax avoidance strategies.
  • Eliminate or restrict the use of stapled securities for tax arbitrage, commonly used by property trusts – many of whom are among the lowest tax contributors.
  • Ensure the ATO is adequately funded and staffed.
  • Support the OECD's action plan on on "base erosion and profit shifting".
  • Support the automatic exchange of information on tax matters between tax authorities of different countries.
For more information, click here to see the full report by the Tax Justice Network.

JOIN THE FIGHT

Make sure corporate tax dodgers pay their fair share, so everyday Australians don't get stuck with the bill.




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