the troubadour

The Tax office attempts to 'name and shame ' seem to be water of a tax accountants back.


The ATO's billion dollar victory over Chevron's outrageous company loan shifting last year, perhaps is now time to put the screws on professional tax mercenaries forever working against a fair payment of profits made within the nation?


The Economist back in 2013, some may recall , reported there was as much as $20 Trillion stashed away in tax havens.


While for the moment it is accepted it is not illegal the ethics of the process needs to be questioned and in time tightened up in order not to make a complete mockery of the system.


In the mean time we can continue to broadcast the corporations not doing there bit and name , probably not much would indeed shame, but at least citizens would be informed especially as business is seeking ever smaller tax imposts.


On the other hand those corporations that do the right thing should be equally outed and applauded for their ethics and community contribution.

Amazulu

The Australian government does not have an income problem, it has an expenditure problem

Fix that first so that taxes for individuals and businesses can be reduced thereby injecting more money into the economy

Spread the tax base by increasing consumption taxes and reducing income tax - which should be paid on every dollar earned (no $18k allowance). Get rid of most tax breaks as a consequence

Sorted

Economics 101

GarryP

A few pointers:

1. It's far from certain that the money that's squiralled away by the companies would end up in Australia. Remember the lack of actually doing things here, coupled with the desire of countries in the americans, europe and asia to get their hands on the same cash would probably mean little going to the ATO.
2. Automation and the move to online for everything is going to make moving the value adding bit offshore easier. At some point the companies will simply say "no". Imagine the hell that would result if google and apple said "no" and turned off access. 'Too big to tax' is not a phrase that's got used yet, but it will.
3. UBI and mincomes need good taxation approaches, but they simply won't work within capitalism 1.0. So you'd need to see a new system anyway, which might well (would have to) deal with some pretty fundamental tax issues (eg moving away from GST for a start).
4. You think human tax accountants are bad, you just wait till AI tax accountants get to work. The global velocity of money will sky rocket - it will be hard to say where the money actually is at any time.
5. GFC MkII must be expected, sooner rather than later. That will break many many systems.

Beoz

I don't see why you are petitioning corporations here as an outlet for your resentment.

Its the governments job to decide the tax rules which balance their income over continued corporation investment in a country.

Speak to your MP if you want to send corporations elsewhere.

the troubadour

I think in Australia its called "In bed with mates'. In other words nothing will be done and a few will continue to make piles while the rest get ever more shafted.


Your concern as always duly noted ....

the troubadour

I take your point. Obviously nothing much can be done until there is a collective will. Hence name and shame is probable the best that can be hoped for until something really gives that causes a divergence between big business and government.
As Bloomsbury recently mentioned the fact that USA is well in the process of becoming the worlds biggest tax haven.
Far from being palm tree atolls and pacific islands........which doesn't add much hope of changes anytime soon.

Beoz

But that's what you left wingers like to call it and the reason why you guys are terrible when it comes to running a business.

At the end of the day its business. A government running a business. A corporation running a business.

Both use each other but when it comes to tax the government holds the laws. Speak to your MP.

the troubadour

Yep reduce tax (hardly compliant at the moment) and increase it to wage earners and those barely managing now at the bottom. Now that will really stimulate the economy won't it? Too few with money to afford to spend anything. Besides the cost of interment would sky rocket and another Brazil in the making.

Gordon Barlow

I'm too gun-shy to get into a discussion in this forum, but as a longtime resident of offshore tax-havens (and a past participant in the profession of tax-avoidance) I strongly advise you all to check online what it is that such places actually do. There's plenty of information out there. Good luck.

Beoz

Yes good tip. The poster tends to read the headline fronting paragraph in something like the Guardian then fails to follow deeper.

the troubadour

It goes on. IKEA sold some $1.6 billion in flat packs and paid the ATO $289,000 .


Not bad if you can get away with it. Chevron has been brought to heed. But about a rogues gallery ...New Corp, Apple, Facebook..... make sure the public know by outing them.


How about a Turnover Tax? As a favourite of a lot companies selling imported here, is to import at a price that leaves most of the profit with their off shore tax havens then make it taxable here.

the troubadour

The poster actually knows to what they refer. Unlike some on here that push a flawed and thoroughly disputed system that will favour but a few. In fact will turn many into slaves forever entrapped into a most unfair system.

the troubadour

Besides take money out of the system that could be put to work and enrich certain individuals and corporations, of what benefit to mankind do you consider tax havens to be?

Stuck in Auckland

Australia is a tax haven

For tax losses

Many get confused between Evasion and Avoidance.

the troubadour

The confusion is rather understandable considering the shades of grey between the two.


Certainly has been a haven for laundering overseas funds into the housing market.