Labor to shut down multinational tax evasion loopholes, 02 March 2015
The Australian Labor Party has announced a package of measures to shut down loopholes, which allow big multinational companies to send profits overseas. According to estimates by the Parliamentary Budget Office, Labor’s plan will bring in at least $1.9b in tax over the next four years.
The package of measures include:
- changing the arrangements for how multinational companies claim tax deductions;
- increasing compliance work by the ATO to track down and tackle corporate tax avoidance;
- cracking down on multinational companies using hybrid structures to reduce tax • improving transparency and data matching; and
- forming a multinational tax expert panel to assist with the implementation and refinement of the above measures.
The Shadow Assistant Treasurer, Mr Andrew Leigh, said that Labor will continue to consult on this approach to ensure big multinationals pay their fair share of tax in Australia. In addition, Labor will continue to consider multinational tax issues such as increased penalties and powers for dealing with tax avoidance and country-by-country reporting. Labor will also work with Australia’s international partners in bilateral tax treaties to consider ways to avoid “double no-tax” scenarios.
Source: Joint media release of the Leader of the Opposition, Shadow Treasurer and Shadow Assistant Treasurer, 2 March 2015.
[IT, 2/3/15]
FJM Comment
They don’t seem to have announced any change in policy or legislative settings.