CORPORATIONS – TAXATION – AUSTRALIA

Hockey’s last big tax crackdown

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Original article by Joanna Mather, Fleur Anderson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 10 : 17-Sep-15

Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey says tax law reforms aimed at combating profit-shifting by multinationals could potentially affect up to 1,000 companies, rather than the 30 that he had initially flagged. Hockey says the revised legislation, which was introduced to Parliament on 16 September 2015, will apply to all multinationals with global revenue of at least $A1bn. Lawyers, accountants and employers’ associations are among those to have expressed concern that the new anti-avoidance laws will deter foreign investment in Australia.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, BAKER AND McKENZIE, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN AUSTRALIA, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT

CSL urges lower manufacturing tax

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Original article by Jennifer Hewett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 4-Aug-15

CSL is one of Australia’s most successful companies. It is a global player in the field of biotechnology. CFO Gordon Naylor complains about high tax rates in Australia which, he believes, hinder the development of the country’s advanced manufacturing sector. CSL advocates the introduction of a new tax rate of 10 per cent for advanced manufacturing. Under the current tax regime, Australian companies pay 30 per cent in corporate tax.

CORPORATES
CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, BLOOMBERG LP, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY AND SCIENCE

Hockey tells states to lift GST income

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 5 : 15-Jul-15

The upcoming state and federal leaders’ summit will present an opportunity to pursue intergovernmental reform, according to Treasurer Joe Hockey. He will use a speech on 15 July 2015 to argue for changes to the GST and the transfer of full responsibility for schools and hospitals to the states. Hockey will also call for measures such as the abolition of inefficient state taxes and a reduction in the corporate tax and capital gains tax rates.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, SOUTH AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, LIBERAL PARTY OF NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Aldi hits back at claims of shirking tax

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 24-Jun-15

Discount grocery chain Aldi says it fully complies with its Australian tax obligations, and has advised that its local income tax bill for the year to 31 December 2013 totalled $A81.6m. The German-owned group was responding to comments by Wesfarmers CEO Richard Goyder, who had questioned whether Aldi was paying sufficient tax in Australia. Aldi boasted local sales of $A6bn in 2014, which was around 13 per cent higher than previously, and it is gaining market share at the expense of its rivals.

CORPORATES
ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, ALDI EINKAUF GMBH & CO OHG, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, METCASH LIMITED – ASX MTS, IGA, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, APPLE INCORPORATED, MICROSOFT CORPORATION, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED

Slash company tax rate, CSL urges

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Original article by Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 16-Jun-15

CSL’s CFO Gordon Naylor says the blood products group does not intend to reduce its manufacturing presence in Australia. However, he has conceded that CSL would have seriously considered building a $A500m plant in Australia if the nation’s 30 per cent corporate tax rate had been more competitive. CSL opted to build the facility in Switzerland, which has a company tax rate of 18 per cent. CSL has suggested that Australia adopt a tax rate of 10 per cent for advanced manufacturers.

CORPORATES
CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, CORPORATE TAX ASSOCIATION, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Treasury may go alone on ‘Google tax’

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Original article by Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 10-Apr-15

The Australian Government would like to introduce changes to the taxation system as soon as possible. Treasury deputy secretary Robert Heferen told the Senate inquiry into corporate tax avoidance on 9 April 2015 that the Government should act now rather than wait for the OECD’s action plan on base erosion and profit shifting. The implementation of the OECD plan would be very complicated

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY

Google tax to hit profit shifting

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Laura Tingle
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 5 : 1-Apr-15

The Australian Government’s May 2015 Budget will include tax measures aimed at addressing the problem of profit-shifting by multinational corporations. The so-called "Google tax" will be modelled on the UK’s Diverted Profits Tax. The Australian Labor Party recently unveiled measures intended to combat profit-shifting. The Budget will also include a levy on bank deposits, while the small business sector will receive a tax cut

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, THE GROUP OF EIGHT LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Rethink call for two-tier tax

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 11-Feb-15

Employers’ groups have expressed concern about a proposal to reduce the corporate tax rate for small businesses while retaining the existing rate that applies to large companies. Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry CEO Kate Carnell says businesses will face more red tape if the Federal Government implements a "two-tiered" corporate tax system. She has urged the Government to consult the business sector on the issue

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Fairfax’s 15.7pc tax rate draws Senate spotlight

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 19 : 5-Feb-15

Claims by the Tax Justice Network that major Australian corporations are using strategies such as profit shifting to minimise their tax burden have sparked a Senate Economics Committee investigation. In a submission prepared by senior research fellow Sinclair Davidson of the right-wing ­Institute of Public Affairs, newspaper publisher Fairfax Media is accused of enjoying an effective tax rate of a mere 15.78% rather than the statutory 30% in 2013-14. Fairfax had in 2014 published articles on alleged tax avoidance by rival News Corp Australia

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TAX JUSTICE NETWORK, INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. SENATE STANDING COMMITTEE ON ECONOMICS, RMIT UNIVERSITY, ROYAL MELBOURNE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

News Corp’s $417m tax bill confounds critics

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 22 : 4-Feb-15

Australia’s Senate Economics Committee is looking into claims by unions and other organisations that major corporations engage in profit shifting to minimise their tax burden. In its submission to the inquiry, News Corp Australia says its payments of income and withholding tax between 2009-10 and 2013-14 totalled $A417.3m. The media group also notes that its combined goods and services, fringe benefits and payroll taxes for those years were worth a further $A900m

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. SENATE STANDING COMMITTEE ON ECONOMICS, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, TAX JUSTICE NETWORK, UNITED VOICE, HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS PTY LTD