Andrew Leigh

TAX TRANSPARENCY – VIA LABOR. AGAIN.

Labor will continue leading the policy debate on tax transparency today with a move to force hundreds of Australia’s biggest private companies to be open about their tax affairs.

Our private senators’ bill will, if passed, require private companies with more than $100 million in turnover to release their tax information to the public annually – effectively putting a spotlight on the taxpaying behaviour of big firms to ensure they pay their fair share.

This stands alongside other transparency measures proposed by Labor, including disclosure of tax haven activity in government tenders, public reporting of country-by-country reports and protection for whistleblowers who uncover tax dodging by multinationals.

The Gillard Government passed tax transparency reforms in June 2013. In December 2015, the Greens and the Liberals raised the transparency threshold for private companies from $100 million to $200 million. This dodgy deal took two-thirds of the private companies out of the spotlight and back into the darkness.

With rising inequality and mounting government debt, Labor stands on the side of middle Australia and small business, not millionaires and multinationals.

Last week we saw the Senate cross bench back in Labor's access to justice policy to help small business get a fair deal against the big guys. This week, we are fighting for tax transparency to promote fairness and tackle inequality.

We can only hope the Turnbull Government will see sense and for once back battlers over billionaires.

MONDAY, 14 AUGUST 2017