Australian Taxation Office bags mammoth $6.4 billion in tax avoidance clawback

A special Australian Taxation Office task force has bagged a mammoth amount of cash in its fight against tax avoidance.

A taskforce established by the Australian Taxation Office has clawed back a mammoth amount of money as part of its fight against corporate tax avoidance.

Some of the country’s largest businesses and multinational entities were targeted in the record-breaking haul, which brought in $6.4 billion in revenue in the 2022-23 financial year.

The ATO has bagged a mega $6.4 billion in unpaid tax.

ATO Commissioner Chris Jordan described the result, which is three times larger than during the previous 12-month period, as “outstanding”.

“The taskforce scrutinises the tax outcomes of the largest 1,100 businesses and multinational groups to verify that they are paying the right amount of tax, and has helped to collect, on average, an additional $2 billion each year from public and multinational businesses,” Mr Jordan said.

About $4.4 billion of the pot came from investigations into the oil and gas industries.

Mr Jordan cited the success of the ATO’s case against resources giant Chevron last year as a sign of its ability to make big businesses pay “more tax and sooner”.

In October 2022, the ATO scored a landmark legal victory against Chevron that saw it wipe out about $40 billion in interest deductions.

The landmark Chevron case continues to pay dividends. Picture: AFP

“Our intervention and strong commodity prices mean that some oil and gas companies are now among the biggest taxpayers in Australia,” Mr Jordan said.

“Some of the revenue is already flowing through the system, positively impacting collections now and into the future.

“We have been planting these seeds for many years and this work is now bearing fruit with significant outcomes for the Taskforce’s compliance and assurance programs.”

Since it was established in 2016, the taskforce has helped to secure some $27.7 billion in additional tax revenue, he said.

“All of these results reflect the hard work the Tax Avoidance Taskforce has done to challenge tax avoidance arrangements. We will continue to hold public and multinational businesses to account to ensure they are paying the right amount of tax.”

Mr Jordan said the ATO is confident “most large businesses are doing the right thing” and paying their fair share of tax.

But he issued a warning to those who aren’t playing by the rules.

“The community can be assured the ATO will detect and pursue those organisations that try to game the system.”