CORPORATIONS – TAXATION – AUSTRALIA

Despite $22bn promise, Adani has paid zero corporate tax in Australia and experts think it won’t ever pay a cent

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Original article by Jonathan Barrett
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 29-Jul-25

Adani Mining posted a loss of $461.7m in the year to 31 March, despite having revenue of $1.27bn. It operates the Carmichael coal mine in Queensland, and is part of the India-based Adani conglomerate. Large annual payments to related parties is a key reason why Adani Mining has yet to make a profit, more than three years afer production at the Carmichael mine began. Jason Ward from the Centre for International Corporate Tax Accountability & Research says the level of related-party transactions at Adani Mining is "pretty unprecedented"; he believes that the company has been structured in a way that ensures it will never make a profit or have to pay tax.

CORPORATES
ADANI MINING PTY LTD, CENTRE FOR INTERNATIONAL CORPORATE TAX ACCOUNTABILITY AND RESEARCH

BHP hits back: we paid for half of all hospitals

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 11-Sep-24

BHP’s Australia president Geraldine Slattery has released a statement which highlights the resources group’s economic contribution. She noted that BHP pays an adjusted tax rate of 32 per cent, which rises to 44 per cent when royalties are taken into account. Slattery added that governments in Australia received a total of $14.5bn from BHP in 2023-24, via taxes, royalties and other payments; she noted that this is about half of the federal government’s annual expenditure on public hospitals. Slattery’s comments follow recent animosity between Minerals Council of Australia CEO Tania Constable and the federal government over the latter’s industrial relations reforms.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

PC: mining subsidy not tax reform

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Original article by Michael Read
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 5-Jun-24

Productivity Commission chair Danielle Wood has defended the federal government’s critical minerals production tax credit regime, which was a key measure in the 14 May budget. Wood has told a Senate estimates hearing that the tax credit scheme is tax policy rather than tax reform. However, Treasurer Jim Chalmers has repeatedly described the tax credits scheme as tax reform. Wood also contended that reducing Australia’s company tax rate of 30 per cent would make the nation more internationally competitive.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Company tax cut will shift pain to others

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 6 : 4-Jun-24

Australia’s company tax rate of 30 per cent is currently the third-highest among OECD nations, and Industry Minister Ed Husic recently suggested that it should be reduced. However, Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy contends that any tax changes should be revenue-neutral, adding that a reduction in the company tax rate would need to be offset by an increase in other taxes. Kennedy also rejected calls for income thresholds to be adjusted every year to combat ‘bracket creep’. Meanwhile, Kennedy says that national accounts data to be released on Wednesday will show that the Australian economy was
"very weak" at the start of 2024.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, SCIENCE AND RESOURCES, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT

One sector pays more tax than all the rest combined

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 9-Nov-23

Data from the Australian Taxation Office shows that the federal government’s corporate tax receipts exceeded $83bn in 2021-22, compared with $68.2bn in the previous financial year. Companies in the mining, energy and water sector paid a total of $42.2bn in income tax for the year. ATO Deputy Commissioner Rebecca Saint says fiscal 2022 was the first year in which these sectors paid more tax than all other sectors combined. The ATO’s annual corporate tax transparency report also shows that 31 per cent of all companies paid no income tax for the financial year.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE

Surplus bounty pushes tax take past 24pc

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 3-Jul-23

Record revenue from company and personal income taxes has resulted in the federal budget being in surplus by $19bn for the first 11 months of 2022-23, putting it on track for a surplus of around $20bn for the financial year. This compares with Treasury’s forecast of a $4.2bn surplus when the budget was released in early May. Economist Chris Richardson estimates that the tax-to-GDP ratio is currently around 24.2 per cent; it has breached the 24 per cent level for the first time since 2007-08, and Richardson believes that this could become a permanent trend. Treasurer Jim Chalmers has previously stated that he does not feel bound by the former Coalition government’s cap of 23.9 per cent, describing it as "arbitrary".

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Tax bonanza but slower growth ahead

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 25 & 28 : 10-May-23

The budget papers show that the federal government’s corporate tax take is slated to total $138.4bn in 2022-23, compared with $123.3bn in 2021-22. Company tax receipts up to March were $7.6bn higher than had been forecast in Labor’s first budget in October, reflecting the increase in earnings in sectors such as resources. However, company tax receipts are forecast to total $128.7bn in 2023-24 and $119.8bn in 2024-25. Treasurer Jim Chalmers noted in his budget speech that global economic growth is expected to slow significantly over the next two years, which will affect the domestic economy, businesses and exporters.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Crown pays Victoria $61m in unpaid taxes

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Original article by Elouise Fowler
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 28-Jul-21

Crown Resorts has advised that it will pay some $37m of unpaid gambling taxes to the Victorian government, plus $24m worth of penalty interest. However, counsel assisting the state’s royal commission into Crown Resorts recently told the inquiry that Crown’s total unpaid tax bill dating back to 2012 could potentially be around $480m, a figure that has been disputed by the casinos group. The unpaid tax bill relates to the rewards program associated with Crown’s electronic gaming machines.

CORPORATES
CROWN RESORTS LIMITED – ASX CWN

Lower corporate taxes vital to growth

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Original article by Tom Dusevic
The Australian – Page: 2 : 30-Jun-21

The Business Council of Australia has released a discussion paper which calls for an overhaul of the nation’s tax system. The BCA contends that tax revenue is too heavily skewed toward the largest companies and the three per cent of individuals who pay the highest personal income tax, and the tax system must evolve in line with a changing economy. BCA CEO Jennifer Westacott says the 30 per cent company tax rate in particular needs to be reviewed, given that the OECD and the Group of Seven have proposed a global minimum corporate tax rate of just 15 per cent.

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, GROUP OF SEVEN (G-7)

ATO warns businesses not to use loopholes to exploit $30bn Covid tax concessions

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Original article by Paul Karp
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 30-Oct-20

Australian Taxation Office second commissioner Jeremy Hirschhorn has urged companies to "think twice" about using artificial mechanisms to take advantage of stimulus measures contained in the recent federal budget. Worth over $30 billion, the measures relate to instant expensing and loss carryback provisions. He has also criticised companies that used JobKeeper wage subsidies to pay dividends, noting that there had been adverse community reaction to companies who had done so. Hirschhorn notes 92.5 per cent of companies comply with their tax obligations when lodging tax returns, with this increasing to 96.3 per cent after ATO compliance activity.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE