Australia’s tax chief may go after some of the country’s biggest corporations for potential discrepancies in their tax payments following the release by ICIJ and partners of confidential agreements made between Luxembourg and multinational corporations.
Chris Jordan, Australia’s Tax Commissioner, told the Australian Financial Review that he has written to other countries to collaborate on a “joint investigation” of the data made public on Wednesday by ICIJ and its partners.
“We will be checking the data that has been published and if we see discrepancies from what we have been told, we will take audit action,” Jordan told the AFR.
According to an analysis by the AFR, the Australian government’s own sovereign wealth fund – called the Future Fund – and dozens of other companies negotiated agreements with the small European nation to reduce taxable profits.
Beyond Australia’s sovereign wealth fund, AFR reported that companies with “property interests” made up a large number of the Australian names in the leaked files. AFR also reported on the Australian arm of furniture company Ikea, and the strategies it uses to shift a significant portion of its profits to low-tax jurisdictions like Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
Read the full story at AFR.com
