New Oz Taxes Sting Tech Giants Extra $380M
America’s four biggest tech companies – Google, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft – have reportedly paid an extra $380 million in Australian tax last year, following new local tax-avoidance laws.
As per The Australian, the four tech giants forked out a total of $616 million in combined tax for the most recent financial year.
Despite a whopping 160% year-on-year increase, some commentators claim funds may still be slipping through cracks.
After taking effect in 2016, the Multinational Anti-Avoidance Law reportedly generated an extra $2.7 billion for multinational companies.
As previously reported, the new tax-avoidance laws aim to tax Australian-generated revenue on shore, rather than being being dealt with in comparatively lower countries (e.g. Singapore or Ireland).
The new laws have seemingly increased local tax revenue – e.g. Google reportedly paid $232 million to the ATO, with income tax expenses for the 2017 year spiking from $16 million to $23.6 million.
Apple’s tax bill was reportedly much higher – from $155m in 2016 to $282 million. The Californian-giant paid $90 million for “underprovision of tax for prior years”.