Corporate Culture: ATO Reveals Overseas Tax Dodges

Australian companies sent almost $60 billion to related parties in tax havens in 2012, with payments to Singapore and Ireland featuring high on the list, according to new data.

The data, never before released by the Australian Tax Office, provides an insight into how multinational groups shuffle money between countries and comes amid an international push to halt the use of tax havens by major corporations.

Due to their low tax rates, Singapore and Ireland are used by multinationals, especially technology companies such as Google and Apple, as locations for sales hubs or corporate headquarters.

In 2012 almost $40 billion was sent to Singapore, which led the payments table despite being only Australia's fourth-largest import market that year, according to Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade data.

At more than $7.5 billion, Ireland, which ranks 32nd among Australia's trading partners, was sixth on the payments table.

Mark Zirnsak, a representative of the Tax Justice Network, said the data demonstrated the need for Australia to be aggressive in its pursuit of companies that shift profits offshore. He said it highlighted the need for greater transparency around corporate transactions to establish which transactions were legitimate and not simply tax dodging.

''There are some very concerning transfers here that need an explanation,'' he said. ''If companies aren't going to voluntarily disclose this information to the public, then there needs to be an explanation as to why money is ending up in these exotic places.''

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