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The latest tax transparency report by the Australian Tax Office shows few large companies actually pay tax at the official rate. Just eight of them pay 43% of all tax actually paid by this group

The latest tax transparency report by the Australian Tax Office shows few large companies actually pay tax at the official rate. Just eight of them pay 43% of all tax actually paid by this group

The Australian Tax Office is into transparency. Large companies have their summary tax situation published.

More than a third of large public and private companies paid no tax in 2014-15, according to data released by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

The ATO's latest corporate tax transparency report showed 36% of large firms had zero tax payable in 2014-15.

However, this is a slight improvement on the prior 2013-14 financial year, where it was nearly 38%.

The entities covered by the report are public and foreign firms with an income of AU$100 mln or more and companies privately owned by Australian residents with an income of AU$200 million-plus.

There were 1,904 companies that fell into these categories.

These companies had "total income" in Australia (revenues) of AU$1.78 tln in 2014/15 and declared Australian taxable income of 9.5% of that or AU$169 bln. They paid 24.8% of that in tax, or AU$41.9 bln.

In fact, the four major banks and the two big miners alone paid 36% of all the tax in this list of 1,904 companies. If you add Shell and Telstra, this eight pay 43% of all tax in this group. That is a huge vulnerability for the Australian tax system. Of those that do pay, the majority pay at a very low level.

The ATO notes that "no tax paid does not necessarily mean tax avoidance", as "the aggregate figures listed cannot and do not reflect the complexity of the tax system".

Here is a list of some of the large companies operating in Australia that may also have business interests or related companies in New Zealand. There are 215 companies in this abbreviated list and a third of them paid zero tax.

Name Total income AU$ Taxable income AU$ Tax payable AU$
ACCENTURE AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD 1,513,504,329 126,759,646 34,274,290
AIRBUS GROUP AUSTRALIA PACIFIC HOLDINGS PTY LIMITED 708,118,121 41,625,352 9,803,522
ALLIANZ AUSTRALIA LIMITED 4,032,821,902 485,363,034 135,459,060
AMAZON CORPORATE SERVICES PTY LTD 148,291,151 14,231,351 4,269,405
AMERICAN EXPRESS AUSTRALIA LIMITED 925,900,000 6,730,780 0
AMERICAN EXPRESS CREDIT CORPORATION 241,267,585 49,285,175 14,785,552
AMERICAN EXPRESS INTERNATIONAL INC AUSTRALIA BRANCH 112,756,201   0
AMP LIMITED 31,349,767,906 5,843,662,310 586,659,669
ANSELL LIMITED 315,130,682 10,128,071 0
ANSVAR INSURANCE LIMITED 160,354,213 2,884,933 865,480
APN NEWS & MEDIA LIMITED 418,426,121 27,324,299 0
APN OUTDOOR GROUP LIMITED 231,387,369 2,306,207 595,420
APPLE PTY LTD 8,348,192,650 487,996,001 146,295,503
ARNOTTS BISCUITS HOLDINGS PTY LTD 1,378,202,558 113,258,867 26,424,064
ASSA ABLOY AUSTRALIA PACIFIC PTY LTD 277,587,248 32,176,857 8,022,161
ASTRAZENECA HOLDINGS PTY LIMITED 1,080,159,308 68,641,796 16,802,800
ASX LIMITED 867,647,416 570,505,918 168,968,655
AT&T GLOBAL NETWORK SERVICES AUSTRALIA PTY LIMITED 136,504,036 8,512,066 2,553,620
ATLAS COPCO SOUTH PACIFIC HOLDINGS PTY LTD 630,652,652 10,860,882 3,148,966
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED 30,003,815,057 8,673,609,240 2,072,457,658
AUSTRALIAN FINANCE GROUP LTD 489,327,866 23,320,027 6,996,008
AUSTRALIAN LAMB COMPANY PTY LTD 311,553,793 10,414,328 1,986,130
AUSTRALIAN POSTAL CORPORATION 6,352,627,297   0
AUSTRALIAN RAIL TRACK CORPORATION LTD 858,790,166 34,602,895 0
AUSTRALIAN SCHOLARSHIPS GROUP FRIENDLY SOCIETY LIMITED 246,090,647 72,594,198 18,241,550
AVIS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD 767,528,632 30,709,232 9,172,238
BABCOCK & BROWN INTERNATIONAL PTY LTD 387,165,663   0
BAIN INTERNATIONAL INC 107,487,400 22,800,721 6,840,216
BANK OF AMERICA NATIONAL ASSOCIATION 278,140,549   0
BANK OF CHINA LIMITED SYDNEY BRANCH 842,623,820 240,613,742 65,055,924
BANK OF QUEENSLAND LIMITED 2,454,848,690 417,120,410 123,319,329
BARCLAYS BANK PLC 510,736,984   0
BASF AUSTRALIA LTD 585,306,255   0
BAYER AUSTRALIA LIMITED 1,020,375,796 68,278,813 12,687,492
BBC WORLDWIDE AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD 131,795,583 3,220,395 0
BECA PTY LTD 114,682,695 3,027,320 0
BECHTEL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD 9,480,923,171 993,953,649 298,186,095
BEGA CHEESE LIMITED 888,064,022 21,098,172 4,611,137
BEIERSDORF AUSTRALIA LIMITED 164,790,281 10,758,228 3,227,468
BELLAMY'S AUSTRALIA LIMITED 125,306,282 13,462,447 4,019,963
BHP BILLITON LIMITED 33,044,169,721 6,338,539,254 1,718,329,663
BLACKMORES LIMITED 364,848,806 84,037,223 20,194,481
BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED 4,975,881,786 353,907,424 0
BMW AUSTRALIA LTD 2,261,474,636 172,543,761 51,763,128
BOEING AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD 1,104,498,300 147,951,932 0
BRIGHT FOOD GROUP HOLDINGS PTY LTD 543,410,036 14,244,257 4,217,915
BT AUSTRALASIA PTY LIMITED 246,186,077 19,030,702 5,709,211
BUNZL AUSTRALASIA LIMITED 604,492,990 10,235,425 3,026,892
BURNS PHILP & CO PTY LIMITED 1,621,296,610   0
CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED 26,396,492,748 18,752,491 4,461,180
CANON AUSTRALIA PTY LIMITED 780,575,989 41,362,558 1,259,083
CAPGEMINI AUSTRALIA PTY LIMITED 250,161,867   0
CASH CONVERTERS INTERNATIONAL LIMITED 278,176,259 6,819,351 1,925,804
CBRE PTY LTD 413,129,930 50,256,968 15,077,090
CHEVRON AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD 3,088,416,159   0
CHINA CONSTRUCTION BANK CORPORATION 507,712,569 109,559,969 32,867,991
CHRISCO HAMPERS AUSTRALIA LIMITED 142,030,724 6,111,154 1,833,346
CISCO SYSTEMS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD 1,572,136,322 68,126,440 19,670,951
CITIGROUP PTY LTD 2,457,836,466 286,127,221 85,838,167
COCA-COLA AMATIL LIMITED 3,682,016,170 375,396,012 104,609,471
COLGATE PALMOLIVE PTY LTD 810,092,139 110,020,209 32,214,523
COLLIERS INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED 233,546,383 39,682,952 9,521,904
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA 44,216,128,308 10,795,572,337 3,107,074,610
COMPUTERSHARE LIMITED 881,275,002 137,270,491 32,153,296
CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LIMITED 103,197,033   0
COUNTRY ROAD GROUP PTY LTD 897,999,216 103,498,315 30,662,212
CREDIT CORP GROUP LIMITED 186,816,647 66,453,081 19,898,671
CREDIT SUISSE HOLDINGS (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED 359,154,840   0
CROWN RESORTS LIMITED 3,647,371,874 555,809,648 156,977,161
CSR LIMITED 1,850,624,117   0
DAIKIN AUSTRALIA PTY LTD 435,215,291 25,237,471 7,027,737
DAIMLER AUSTRALIA/PACIFIC PTY LTD 3,217,537,000 196,310,607 58,893,182
DAIRY FARMERS MILK CO-OPERATIVE LIMITED 142,323,629 527,673 0
DATACOM AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LIMITED 377,681,565 8,341,196 1,705,610
DELL AUSTRALIA PTY LIMITED 267,432,889 11,954,730 3,370,120
DEUTSCHE BANK AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT 1,175,691,595 60,156,718 18,047,015
DIAGEO AUSTRALIA LIMITED 532,554,444 24,236,727 7,271,018
DOW AGROSCIENCES AUSTRALIA LIMITED 159,281,851   0
DOW CHEMICAL (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED 247,551,068   0
DOWNER EDI LIMITED 5,816,965,428 192,682,506 4,668,204
DULUXGROUP LIMITED 1,563,028,227 151,752,308 40,083,994
DUPONT (AUSTRALIA) PTY LIMITED 300,493,482 50,313,225 11,552,564
DYSON APPLIANCES (AUST) PTY LIMITED 235,281,757 5,720,275 1,707,458
ECOLAB PTY LTD 401,495,501 26,862,204 7,475,832
ELDERS LTD 1,387,703,258 3,194,574 0
ELI LILLY AUSTRALIA PTY LIMITED 246,410,409 30,224,983 6,210,225
EMIRATES AIRLINE 184,831,279   0
ESTEE LAUDER PTY LIMITED 227,737,547 35,721,240 10,716,372
ETIHAD AIRWAYS PJSC 356,524,858   0
EUROPCAR HOLDING PTY LTD 174,775,062   0
EXXONMOBIL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD 8,464,272,972   0
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED 1,449,718,642 91,856,465 23,350,324
FEDERAL EXPRESS (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD 228,612,085 73,427,159 22,028,148
FISHER & PAYKEL AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED 592,942,631 10,688,558 3,206,567
FLETCHER BUILDING (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD 2,890,992,098 8,787,543 2,636,263
FLETCHER BUILDING INTERNATIONAL LP 227,412,647 6,567,156 1,813,556
FLEXIGROUP LIMITED 375,990,746 111,805,758 33,541,727
FLIGHT CENTRE TRAVEL GROUP LIMITED 1,449,342,729 316,982,181 93,093,013
FORD MOTOR COMPANY OF AUSTRALIA LTD 2,496,821,478   0
FOXCONN AUSTRALIA PTY LIMITED 209,038,734   0
FUJI XEROX AUSTRALIA PTY. LTD 1,200,463,440 82,408,978 18,360,259
FULTON HOGAN AUSTRALIA PTY LTD 1,423,312,686 43,537,043 6,202,230
GE CAPITAL HOLDINGS PARTNERSHIP LLP 2,446,697,321 342,728,617 102,762,624
GENERAL MOTORS AUSTRALIA LTD 3,704,748,755   0
GLAXOSMITHKLINE HOLDINGS PTY LTD 1,366,256,159 32,928,130 9,878,439
GLENCORE INVESTMENT PTY LIMITED 4,968,756,911 108,107,993 0
GOLDMAN SACHS HOLDINGS ANZ PTY LIMITED 634,449,267   0
GOODMAN FIELDER PTY LIMITED 743,663,522   0
GOOGLE AUSTRALIA PTY LIMITED 438,687,915 106,097,095 12,171,091
GRANT THORNTON AUSTRALIA LIMITED 223,989,072 36,271,874 10,881,562
HARLEY DAVIDSON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD 247,984,321 15,839,927 4,751,978
HARVEY NORMAN 1,307,199,315 292,828,570 82,332,048
HEINZ WATTIE'S PTY LTD 714,590,552 6,976,750 0
HERTZ INVESTMENT (HOLDINGS) PTY LTD 334,141,167   0
HONDA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD 878,855,918 16,088,878 0
HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LIMITED 1,370,536,181 309,845,637 90,993,364
HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES (AUSTRALIA) PTY LIMITED 501,988,508 33,706,424 8,579,642
HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY AUSTRALIA PTY LIMITED 2,098,038,419 54,423,648 16,327,094
IBM A/NZ HOLDINGS PTY LIMITED 3,627,755,348 49,341,621 0
IKEA PTY LIMITED 883,459,585 41,701,035 12,510,310
ING AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED 2,704,506,882 404,604,017 112,823,928
INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIMITED 15,064,544,480 746,691,353 68,279,315
IVECO TRUCKS AUSTRALIA LIMITED 352,939,145   0
J. J. RICHARDS & SONS PTY LTD 762,250,424 86,839,806 23,367,407
JAMES HARDIE RESEARCH (HOLDINGS) PTY LIMITED 335,029,355   0
JB HI-FI LIMITED 3,457,142,146 204,981,444 61,494,309
JBWERE LIMITED 130,489,619   0
JOHNSON & JOHNSON PTY LTD 1,516,661,490 135,405,325 34,962,939
JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA GROUP PTY LIMITED 585,129,706 5,225,720 0
KELLOGG AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LIMITED 483,962,395 6,252,514 23,401
KIMBERLY CLARK PACIFIC HOLDINGS PTY LIMITED 1,028,593,206 91,044,093 27,174,357
KUEHNE & NAGEL PTY LTD 354,974,957 6,135,817 1,840,745
LG ELECTRONICS AUSTRALIA PTY LIMITED 733,104,552 12,786,677 3,836,003
LINFOX PTY LTD 2,181,460,710 167,182,944 49,816,662
LION PTY LIMITED 4,135,772,248 186,400,675 31,718,084
L'OREAL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD 484,078,042 88,424,187 26,527,256
LOUIS VUITTON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD 182,672,381 18,388,633 5,516,590
MACQUARIE GROUP LTD 8,917,967,284 995,344,971 194,019,798
MAINFREIGHT HOLDINGS PTY LTD 505,284,468 21,480,331 6,444,099
MARS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD 1,390,821,599 263,123,908 66,556,564
MASTERCARD ASIA/PACIFIC (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD 303,744,803 11,717,565 1,860,578
MCCAIN FOODS (AUST) PTY LTD 661,917,730 39,507,703 9,242,042
MCCORMICK FOODS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD 128,491,758 2,114,575 634,372
MCKINSEY PACIFIC RIM INC 205,120,508 32,096,633 9,509,441
MERCK SHARP & DOHME (HOLDINGS) PTY LTD 878,556,132 78,595,157 17,796,370
METCASH LIMITED 14,402,159,529 193,591,731 53,919,941
MICROSOFT PTY LTD 679,432,365 111,115,856 33,334,757
MIRVAC LIMITED 1,550,390,021 18,293,243 0
MITSUBISHI MOTORS AUSTRALIA LIMITED 2,022,530,360 962,672 0
MONSANTO AUSTRALIA LIMITED 132,371,049 7,542,387 2,262,716
MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA FINANCE PTY LIMITED 496,344,491 50,167,094 15,050,128
MURRAY GOULBURN CO-OPERATIVE CO. LIMITED 3,042,602,646 53,646,570 12,417,429
MYOB GROUP LIMITED 259,380,850   0
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED 46,064,575,264 12,938,685,627 2,688,097,025
NESTLE AUSTRALIA LIMITED 2,149,111,209 270,179,009 67,118,140
NEW ZEALAND MILK (AUSTRALASIA) PTY LTD 1,836,220,000 2,598,710 0
NEWS AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LIMITED 2,744,355,371 70,847,581 0
NORSKE SKOG INDUSTRIES AUSTRALIA 455,767,571   0
NUPLEX OPERATIONS (AUST) PTY LTD 342,765,590   0
OFFICEMAX INTERNATIONAL PTY LTD 315,959,626   0
ORICA LIMITED 2,801,998,018 270,376,588 57,115,859
ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED 12,200,600,757   0
ORIX AUSTRALIA CORPORATION LIMITED 330,059,077 52,555,569 15,766,671
OZFOREX GROUP LIMITED 119,885,240 23,280,469 6,971,523
PAYPAL AUSTRALIA PTY LIMITED 297,584,010 12,013,561 3,604,068
PHILIP MORRIS (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED 2,977,105,082 561,515,643 168,454,693
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS SECURITIES LTD 113,497,335   0
PUMPKIN PATCH ORIGINALS LIMITED 121,646,472   0
QANTAS AIRWAYS LTD 15,467,492,749 211,727,187 0
QATAR AIRWAYS (Q.C.S.C) 464,868,346   0
QBE INSURANCE GROUP LIMITED 6,757,661,127 1,008,792,278 277,528,461
RABO AUSTRALIA LIMITED 1,174,621,830 97,421,248 27,952,065
RANDSTAD HOLDINGS PTY LIMITED 634,857,605   0
RECKITT BENCKISER HEALTHCARE AU 802,364,844 91,393,229 27,417,969
REECE LIMITED 2,087,011,884 238,768,260 71,605,098
RENTOKIL PTY LTD 190,184,743 12,321,748 3,696,524
RHEEM AUSTRALIA PTY LTD 324,012,259 23,499,935 4,805,052
RICOH AUSTRALIA PTY LTD 408,288,369 14,390,817 3,965,728
RIO TINTO LTD 31,191,603,974 9,806,685,939 2,733,767,906
ROYAL BANK OF CANADA 311,379,987 5,401,971 1,620,591
SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS AUSTRALIA PTY LIMITED 2,270,381,856 112,820,171 33,846,051
SAP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD 799,558,030 7,755,370 1,190,771
SCENIC LEISURE GROUP PTY LTD 865,107,827   0
SEALED AIR AUSTRALIA (HOLDINGS) PTY LIMITED 338,685,163 7,245,727 0
SERCO GROUP PTY LIMITED 1,250,188,393 30,999,999 5,210,397
SHELL ENERGY HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LTD 18,449,928,728 4,188,252,139 1,028,943,536
SIEMENS LTD 1,251,231,455 39,320,896 9,439,099
SIMPLOT AUSTRALIA (HOLDINGS) PTY LIMIT ED 1,260,455,820 68,174,441 14,176,309
SKILLED GROUP LIMITED 1,942,304,928 53,467,873 15,915,278
SLATER AND GORDON LIMITED 331,189,344 24,045,443 6,577,959
SPICERS LIMITED 241,088,517   0
SPOTLESS GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED 2,438,873,473 11,209,536 0
STAPLES AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LIMITED 739,089,426   0
STATE STREET BANK & TRUST COMPANY 121,379,922 23,259,751 6,977,925
SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED 14,599,032,520 1,854,712,847 442,580,838
SWISS REINSURANCE COMPANY PRINCIPAL OFFICE FOR AUSTRALIA 718,310,159 104,716,060 31,414,818
SYDNEY AIRPORT LIMITED 1,176,161,050   0
TASMANIAN DAIRY PRODUCTS CO PTY LTD 126,448,053   0
TELSTRA CORPORATION LTD 25,659,795,396 5,987,147,963 1,712,473,178
TETRA PAK MANUFACTURING PTY LIMITED 144,983,069 5,075,576 1,522,673
THE HONGKONG AND SHANGHAI BANKING CORPORATION LIMITED 548,138,098 232,046,256 69,613,877
THE ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND PLC (AUSTRALIA BRANCH) 608,190,091   0
THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD 730,282,028   0
TOLL HOLDINGS LIMITED 5,334,823,372 132,886,477 29,258,562
TOSHIBA (AUSTRALIA) PTY LIMITED 624,906,272 11,884,345 3,531,831
TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION AUSTRALIA LTD 10,195,080,554 539,100,751 150,884,361
TRAVELEX AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD 1,744,422,854 7,597,889 2,239,457
VEDA GROUP LIMITED 281,195,639 45,354,799 0
WESFARMERS LIMITED 68,564,214,822 3,347,874,171 958,824,629
WESTFIELD CORPORATION LIMITED 515,372,702 3,566,126 457,630
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION 36,838,104,467 10,239,264,580 2,853,558,937
WILMAR AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LIMITED 1,567,605,050   0
WILSON PARKING AUSTRALIA 1992 PTY LTD 1,061,128,896 44,811,797 12,251,605
YAHOO! AUSTRALIA & NZ (HOLDINGS) PTY LIMITED 102,146,418 33,355,201 8,728,420
ZURICH FINANCIAL SERVICES AUSTRALIA LIMITED 2,148,575,463 208,078,071 31,145,811

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7 Comments

It's a Trump world; the rich get richer, the poor are made poorer and the middle classes have to work longer hours, oh and now more smartly too... Is this acceptable, I think not!

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A Trump world? Really? He hasn't even taken office yet. I think you meant to say: It's an Obama world...

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Tax on Revenue instead of Profit. Only has to be 3-4%. That would sort it right out.

Funny enough that's how it works for us employees.

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Does the IRD produce a similar report, & if not why not?

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What happened to the comment that the bulk of Taxation came from business and not PAYE

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That's what they call 'Fake news'.

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Fascinating work David. Congratulations.
I guess such thieves still obey the law. So we need to fix the law.

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