The recent release of the corporate tax transparency data by the Australian Taxation Office, for company tax paid in the 2024-25 financial year, once again shows some of Australia’s biggest corporates are not paying company tax.
It’s once again that time of year when the ATO releases the tax data from company tax payments, albeit from two financial years prior to the release. In all the 4,299 companies on the tax transparency list paid $87.5 billion in tax—entities listed must report earnings of $100 million or higher. At 27 per cent companies paying no tax was an all time low and the ATO reports corporate tax compliance is 96.3 per cent.
At the top of the list of those paying their fair share are bankers and resource companies. Rio Tinto, forking out $5.2 billion, and BHP, $3.9 billion, are the two biggest corporate taxpayers in the country.
The Commonwealth Bank paid $3.8 billion in corporate tax, Westpac and National Australia Bank each paid $2.6 billion and ANZ $1.6 billion. Though the Macquarie Group—in typical Mac Bank fashion—managed to squeeze every last deduction out of its taxes, paying $440 million in taxes on $24.2 billion in revenue.
Our four biggest food and grocery companies posted big revenue numbers, all inside the top 30 companies for earnings, but operate on relatively thin margins. Woolworths paid $622 million tax, Coles $414 million, ALDI $204 million and Metcash $85 million.
Once again US-owned Chevron came up with a creative way of handling its $6.8 billion in earnings from extracting our gas and oil — it paid zero corporate tax.
Though the company did pay $166 million in Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT).
Power companies AGL and Energy Australia relied on tax losses to avoid tax on $13 billion and $7 billion in revenue, respectively. Another well-known utility provider, Singtel, owner of Optus, managed to avoid tax on its $8 billion in revenue.
The insurance sector, which has no trouble pushing up premiums every year, reported thin taxable income on solid revenue. Insurance Australia Group paid no tax on $17.8 billion in earnings, Prudential paid no tax, nor did Hanover or RACV; however, QBE, Auto and General Insurance and RACQ and tipped into the ATO’s coffers.
Come on Rupert, where’s the tabloid hype?
Surely the Aussie battlers reading, US national, Rupert Murdoch’s rags would be chomping at the bit to see who they are paying more tax than. But not a whisper from the Murdoch media empire, the tax transparency report just blows away in the winds generated at News 24 and the corporate headquarters at Holt Street in Sydney’s Surry Hills.
In years gone by the Murdoch press would have been all over Habit Financial Services, a tabloid story that writes itself.
Habit is a Sydney-based corporate stockbroker and investment analysis firm. It skillfully crafted an annual taxable income of $424 from $690 million in earnings. Of companies that actually paid tax, the $127 Habit slipped the ATO was the smallest amount of any of the 4,299 on the list.
The Habit story gets even better as according to its website it doesn’t have an office but is located in shared offices in Angel Place. A Murdoch newshound might ask why a company pulling down $13 million a week—and paying virtually no tax—can’t afford its own office?
There’s a good reason why; old Rupert is an even more egregious tax dodger.
A perfect 10 as tax news is no news
News Australia Holdings, which owns all of Murdoch’s local media assets, posted $1.9 billion in earnings, and $310 million in taxable income, from which it paid no tax.
The champagne corks would have been popping around the Murdoch board table as it’s now ten consecutive years that it’s not forked out a cent in corporate tax.
The media bottom line is that, if you’re not paying any tax, it is better to not shine a light on others in the same boat.
In contrast Nine Entertainment, owner of the Nine Television network, The Age, Sydney Morning Herald and the Australian Financial Review, paid $76.7 million in tax on $290 million in profit. Even the ailing Seven West Media managed to cough up $3 million on $11 million in taxable income.
