In the House of Reps on Thur 4.9.2014, the Treasurer made a ministerial statement on G20-OECD tax and transparency. In relation to multinational businesses that have set up sophisticated arrangements to avoid Australian tax, Mr Hockey said this was “patently unfair – unfair on the Australian taxpayer and unfair on local businesses that are doing the right thing”. He said the Coalition Government was “firmly committed to ensuring that Australian tax is paid on profits earned in Australia”.
The Treasurer said Australia has a robust and sophisticated set of laws that deal with aggressive tax planning and international profit-shifting.
Mr Hockey noted the legislation currently before the House of Reps to tighten the thin capitalisation rules which built on the previous Government’s work. He said this “further legislation before the Parliament will prevent multinational companies using hybrid financial arrangements to circumvent the proper application of our thin capitalisation rules”.
The Treasurer also said the upcoming G20 Finance Ministers meeting in Cairns would update on the OECD’s BEPS Action Plan and also on the new common global reporting standards.
[LTN 171, 4/9/14]