Remember James Hardie the asbestos giant? Some would ague they pay royalties on resources and employ a lot of people who pay tax so therefore they dont need to pay company tax. Try arguing with the ATO that you pay GST and shouldnt have to pay personal income tax. Quote: Almost a third of Australias largest companies are paying less than 10¢ in the dollar in corporate tax, a report that exposes a gaping hole in government revenues over the past decade shows. As Australia prepares to host world leaders at the G20 summit in Brisbane in November, where a global assault on tax avoidance will be discussed, the report found 84 per cent of Australias top 200 stockmarket-listed companies pay less than the 30 per cent company tax rate. Some, among them household names such as James Hardie, do not contribute a dollar to Australian coffers, it found. The 90-page look at tax contributions of the S&P/ASX 200 between 2004 and last year claims up to $80 billion in tax was forgone in that period. That could all but wipe out the past two budget deficits. It details the widespread and growing use of subsidiaries in tax havens and so-called thin capitalisation, where local entities are saddled with huge debts to reduce tax liabilities in Australia. Almost 60 per cent of the ASX 200 declare subsidiaries in tax havens. For example, global broadcaster 21st Century Fox has 117 and logistics group Toll Holdings 72 in low-tax jurisdictions. Nearly a third of companies have an average effective tax rate of 10 per cent or less. James Hardie pays an effective rate of 0 per cent tax, Sydney Airport 2 per cent and Echo Entertainment - owner of Sydneys Star casino - 5 per cent, the report found. It said many of the lowest-paying companies are real estate investment trusts, which pass some of the tax burden on to investors. Read more: smh.au/national/big-business-shirks-fair-share-of-tax-load-20140928-3gtm2.html#ixzz3Edir7Gtf
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 19:34:23 +0000
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