Fossil fuel giants paid no tax in 2020-21 despite billions in revenue, says ATO report

Australia’s biggest gas and coal exporters paid no tax in 2020-21, data from the Australian Taxation Office’s annual tax transparency report shows. And fossil fuel lobbyist News Corp continues to fail to pay any tax at all in Australia.

The data reveals the tax payments of around 2400 large companies, the result of a tax transparency initiative put in place by the previous Labor government, despite opposition from the Coalition and the Greens. More than 800 companies paid no tax at all, most for good reasons — especially given the impact of the pandemic. Firms may have made no taxable income during the year, even despite high revenues, or may be able to claim losses from previous years against taxable income. But a number paid no tax at all despite earning mammoth revenues and profits.

Coal giant Glencore — currently being prosecuted in the UK for paying massive bribes — paid zero tax on more than $2.8 billion in taxable income, off more than $16 billion in revenue. This was the first time in recent years the multinational has paid no tax, after paying nearly $600 million in 2019-20.

Bluescope Steel, a serial non-payer (it last paid tax in 2017) and beneficiary of government largesse, paid no tax on more than $600 million in taxable income. Another regular non-payer, Alumina Ltd, similarly paid no tax on nearly $350 million.

Fossil fuel giant and major climate culprit Woodside claimed to have made only $157 million off $6.7 billion in revenue and paid no tax. It paid no petroleum rent resource tax (PRRT).

The other major climate culprit, Santos, at least paid some PRRT, which it has been doing since 2019: nearly $200 million. But it paid no tax on its $68 million in taxable income, off more than $4 billion in revenue.

Multinational Chevron paid $30 — that’s not a typo, $30 — in tax on $113 million in taxable income, off $9.2 billion in revenue. It paid no PRRT. Shell paid no tax, claiming no taxable income off revenues of more than $6 billion. Petrol giants Ampol and Viva paid no tax off no taxable income. Whitehaven Coal paid no tax on no taxable income. Toll road giant Transurban also continued its long history of paying no tax.

News Corp made more than $140 million in taxable income but didn’t pay any tax. Apart from $200,000 in tax from its investment arm in 2018 and $8 million in tax from its Foxtel investment arm in 2016, News Corp has paid no tax for many years in Australia, and in fact has received more in taxpayer handouts than it has paid in tax in total. In contrast, Nine paid $109 million in tax from $364 million in taxable income.

The big taxpayers were, as always, the big miners and the banks:

• BHP — nearly $10 billion in tax (off $44 billion taxable income across all groups, or around 22%). BHP also paid around $400 million in PRRT
• Rio Tinto — $6.2 billion ($28% of taxable income)
• Fortescue — $5.8 billion (30%)
• CBA — $3.1 billion (29%)
• Westpac — $2.3 billion (30%)
• Roy Hill — $1.9 billion (30%)
• ANZ — $1.6 billion (29%)
• NAB — $1.3 billion (30%)
• Hancock Prospecting — $1.1 billion (18%)

This article was first published by Crikey.