Tax transparency data released today by the Australian Taxation Office shows that 32% of large corporations operating in Australia paid no tax in the 2017/18 financial year.
Total income, taxable income and tax payable are shown for each of 2,214 corporations which meet one of the following criteria:
- Australian public and foreign-owned entities with total income of $100 million or more
- Australian-owned resident private entities with total income of $200 million or more
- entities that have petroleum resource rent tax (PRRT) payable.
The Taxation Office points out that corporate income tax is payable on profits, not gross income and there are legitimate reasons why companies continue to make losses each year.
“However, companies that consistently report sustained losses do raise a red flag. The community should be reassured that we closely scrutinise the tax affairs of the largest companies” says the Taxation Office.
Tax transparency information for five financial years, up to 2017/18, has now been released by the Australian Taxation Office.
Some large corporations have not paid any tax for the entire five year period. Examples which may be of interest to Redlands folk include:
- Lendlease (ASX LLC), the lead developer of the Shoreline housing project in southern Redlands since mid 2018
- Sibelco, the overseas based sand mining company with leases on North Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah) until 31 December 2019.
- Walker Group Holdings Pty Ltd, preferred developer of 3,600 apartments on Ramsar wetlands next to Toondah Harbour
Further reading about tax transparency
Redlands2030 – 12 December 2019
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4 Comments
Wealthy companies can employ accountants and solicitors who use loopholes to avoid their responsibility to help fund costs of schools, hospitals, roads etc. The little people on PAYE are always going to be carrying the heavy load. Walker Group is being given Moreton Bay land and waters for FREE. They get to fill it with questionable material to make a 100 acre canal estate, allow stormwater and rubbish to run off the island of 3,600 units into a Marine Park. When is the penny going to drop for these brain dead politicians at all three levels of Government. They must realise the long term costs will impact on Redlands ratepayers and tax payers in Qld.
Companies that are not making a profit do not pay tax. That is the tax law. These companies will become bankrupt unless they can make a profit before their financial reserves and loan arrangements are exhausted. Meanwhile they employ people and provide services.
Certainly, the tax office must ensure all who should pay taxes do so. But, to criticise companies obeying the law albeit not paying tax in any particular year is to join those having the “cut down the tall poppy syndrome”, preferring to embrace an ethos of equality (to some an ethos of mediocrity) rather than celebrating success.
It can be summarised in a few words – corporate greed and government incompetence. At the same time the government is sanctioning robo-debts to ordinary citizens, based on poor accounting. One of these corporations that has paid no tax over the last five years is Walker Group Holdings Pty Ltd, yet Redland City Council and Queensland State Government want to turn over valuable wetland to the Corporation free of charge. This needs a full investigation.
This isn’t new. What would be new is if you dug deeper and discovered who or what owns the ones that didn’t pay any tax. If you’re the Policeman, the Judge, the Tax collector, and a corporate investor, that would be one of the best games of mates scams going…