Over 800 Large Companies Pay No Tax In Latest ATO Report

Australian Taxation Office (ATO) ’s corporate tax transparency report shows that 831 companies paid no tax in 2021-22.

However, the overall tax collections increased due to higher profits in the mining and oil industries.

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This equated to 31 per cent of the covered corporate entities paying no tax, with several reasons behind this, such as companies making accounting losses or claiming offsets to nullify their tax obligations. 

The report aligns with ASX data, where 20-30 per cent of ASX 500 companies reported net losses to their shareholders in a given year.

Despite this, the ATO reported a substantial increase in total income tax, reaching $83.8 billion across the covered entities. 

The tax collected escalated by $15.2 billion, marking a 22 per cent increase from the previous year and almost 50 per cent higher than figures two years ago.

The ATO Deputy Commissioner, Rebecca Saint, attributed the increase in tax to the robust mining sector, which, for the first time in the report’s history, contributed more taxes than all other sectors combined.

“The increase in population in the report as well as tax paid is not only a reflection of strong business conditions at the time, but also the high levels of tax compliance by the largest business in Australia,” Ms Saint said.

This financial year has seen a resurgence in tax collections post-COVID-19, with large taxpayers recovering from the pandemic and lockdowns. 

The Tax Avoidance Taskforce has shown success in regaining revenue. Since its establishment in 2016, $27.7 billion in additional tax revenue has been collected from multinational enterprises and large public and private businesses.

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