From Newsgroup: aus.politics

*ATO says 1,149 large companies paid no tax as it scrutinises AI firms*


/ABC News, Australia, By business reporter Nassim Khadem/
/Posted, Thu 1 Oct 2026 at 12:19am/ <https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-01/ato-reveals-companies-that-paid-no-tax-as-fights-profit-shifting/107204032?utm_source=braze&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20260930_newsam_newsletter&utm_id=6abd7f5c5f66c1093a7b65993f27bb40>


*In short*

"Australian Tax Office data shows 73 per cent of large companies paid
tax in the 2024rCo25 financial year.

The ATO says there are legitimate reasons why a company may not pay tax.
What's next?

The tax office is watching companies that use offshore financing and
marketing hubs, as well as AI businesses.
Almost 30 per cent of large companies paid no tax in 2024rCo25, an
Australian Taxation Office (ATO) report reveals.

The ATO's 12th corporate tax transparency report, which covers 4,299
entities that lodged tax returns two financial years ago, found there
were 1,149 entities (27 per cent) that did not pay tax.

That left 3,150 (73 per cent) that did pay tax as the Australian economy
faced slow growth, declining commodity prices and high interest rates.

These conditions contributed to a mixed performance among corporate
taxpayers, with tax payable decreasing by $8.2 billion (8.6 per cent) to
$87.5 billion, compared to the previous year.

The report highlights various explanations, including companies making
an accounting loss or claiming tax offsets that reduced their tax bill
to zero.
ATO acting deputy commissioner Michelle Sams said there were legitimate reasons why a company may pay no income tax.

"'It's important to remember that a nil tax result doesn't automatically
imply wrongdoing," she said.

*Many large businesses legitimately pay no income tax but we continue to scrutinise these outcomes closely, as the community expects.*

Ms Sams said the proportion of large corporates paying no income tax was
now the lowest level since corporate tax transparency reporting began in 2013rCo14. In that year the percentage of companies that paid no tax was
36 per cent. ..."

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YAWN!
The main reason why companies manage to pay no tax is because all those
lovely loopholes successive rightwing governments have built into our
tax code over many decades. Shame on Labor for not repealing all of
these vulture capitalist tricks. It is high time to do something about it.
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