Australia’s super rich to be unmasked

THEY say that a full coin purse doesn’t rattle, so you wouldn’t be able to pick out the ultra-wealthy in a crowd. But that’s about to change.

Mariah Carey and James Packer disembarch from billionaire's luxury yacht on their way to restaurant in Formentera. Pictured: Mariah Carey, James Packer Ref: SPL1068459 010715 Picture by: Splash News Splash News and Pictures Los Angeles: 310-821-2666 New York: 212-619-2666 London: 870-934-2666 [e-mail]

THEY say that a full coin purse doesn’t rattle, and that the mega rich are such conservative spenders that you wouldn’t be able to pick one out in a crowd.

But that’s about to change, with the Federal Government reportedly poised to announce a crack down to expose the identity of Australia’s super wealthy elites.

The Turnbull government will create a public register unmasking the beneficial owners of shell companies in response to outrage over multinational tax avoidance, The Guardian reports.

Labor has not committed to a register.

Assistant treasurer, Kelly O’Dwyer has confirmed the measure will be announced in coming weeks, as tax avoidance firms up to be a key issue in the election campaign.

The move aims to bring Australia in line with G20 commitments on corporate transparency, and make it easier for ASIC to detect and prosecute illegal tax avoidance schemes.

It comes after the Panama Papers leak revealed that more than 800 Australians were on the files of law firm Mossack Fonseca.

Files leaked to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists showed how global elites were using a complicated structure of shelf companies to hide their money in offshore accounts.

Ms O’Dwyer told the Guardian that a public register would improve transparency.

“It means that the public and law enforcement agencies know who ultimately controls the company,” she said.

“It means it is a lot easier to expose wrongdoing or fraudulent conduct. It makes it much easier to disrupt illicit financial flows and it makes it much, much harder to engage in tax avoidance.”

Oxfam Australia Chief Executive Dr Helen Szoke welcomed the “long-awaited move”, calling it a positive first step, but said authorities must go further to stop the international use of tax havens.

“What we have right now is a financial system that allows big business and the super-rich, here and abroad, to hide millions of dollars that they should be paying in tax,” Dr Szoke said.

“Tackling tax evasion is an opportunity to deliver more revenue for the Australian national budget to spend on health and education, while also helping some of the extremely poor nations that were our closest neighbours.”

She said all large companies must be compelled to publish details of their profits and taxes, on a country by country basis.

“The current reporting framework does not require the information on Australian companies operating overseas to be made public, or to be shared with governments in the poorest countries,” she said.

“We know that this problem isn’t limited to Australia. Countries around the world, including the poorest nations, are losing out due to tax avoidance. Poor countries are starved of at least $100 billion annually due to the tax dodging and tax evasion practices of multinational companies ...

“Parties need to get their policies right. That means addressing both national and international tax loopholes.”

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