The $9 billion rip-off hurting Australia

NINE in 10 Australians want whoever wins the July 2 elections to crack down on this multibillion-dollar rort, a new study says.

Oxfam Australia head Helen Szoke.

WHOEVER wins the July 2 election must crack down on multinational tax dodging that is costing Australia billions of dollars in lost revenue each year, Oxfam Australia says.

In a new report, the aid advocate calculates that nearly $9 billion is foregone annually through multinationals stashing profits made in Australia in tax havens.

This is money that could be spent on schools, hospitals and critical infrastructure both at home and in poor countries.

Oxfam Australia head Helen Szoke said the report shows how much the public lose out when big companies do the wrong thing and governments don’t step in and stop them.

“The Oxfam report, for the first time, puts dollar figures on what Australians and poor people in our region are missing out on,” Dr Szoke says.

Globally, tax dodging is rampant in developing countries with big companies ripping $US172 billion ($A230 billion) of tax revenue out of their economies in 2014.

Google has long been accused of dodging tax. Picture: Virginia Mayo/AP

Google Australia’s Maile Carnegie at a Senate Inquiry. Picture: Britta Campion

The Hidden Billions report is being official launched in Melbourne on Thursday.

It will be released alongside results of an online poll that shows 90 per cent of Australians think the government should do more to stop multinational corporations avoiding paying tax in Australia and in every country in which they operate.

Voters want the government to legislate to prevent all multinationals operating in Australia from moving their profits to tax havens to avoid paying tax here.

There are also calls for greater transparency that would see these companies publicly reporting their earnings and the tax they pay.

“With inequality worsening around the world, making the fight against poverty even harder, companies must pay their fair share of taxes, so that the revenue can be used to improve peoples’ lives, both here and for the world’s poorest people,” Dr Szoke said.