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Australia, Article: Australia Is Closing Tax Loopholes
By
Christoph Hein
, from Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Frankfurt am
Main, Germany, September 17, 2015
Singapore, September 16, 2015. Australia is reviewing thousand corporation groups operating
worldwide and examines their tax honesty. Should they get caught, of avoiding taxes in
Australia, they have to double their tax payments as a punishment and they have to pay
interest on the amount.
“The law will cover all multinational corporations which operate in Australia and which have
worldwide sales of over one billion dollar “, says minister of Finance Joe Hockey before the
parliament in Canberra. For him, it is especially about corporation groups, which are doing
business in Australia, but the profit of which they are booking abroad, for instance in
Singapore. To this group of corporations belong large mining corporation groups, but also
Google and Apple.
Hundreds of millions of dollars might in future flow additionally into the government
accounts due to the new regulations. But Hockey refused to mention a sum of additional tax
income, because individual cases have to be checked upon first. The highest ranking
government tax employee, Chris Jordan, explained, the corporations are already about to
change their behavior: “A number of multinational corporation groups are now reporting
profits, which previously have not been reported with regard to their business. And they
prepare themselves, for restructuring their business in such a way, that they will pay a fair
share in Australia.”
Jordan was speaking of sales in the amount of hundreds of millions of dollars, which are
being achieved in Australia, but which are not being reported in Australia. Australia is taxing
corporate profits with 30 percent - significantly more than for instance Singapore, which
attracts with many additional tax reliefs.
Australia last year, during its presidency of the G-20-Countries, had agreed with the OECD,
Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development, to proceed in a tougher manner
against tax avoidance.
from Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, September 17, 2015.
Responsible for translation: GEFIU, the Association of Chief Financial Officers Germany,
translator: Helmut Schnabel
IAFEI Quarterly | Issue 30 | 5