‘Certainly pleased’: Cochlear, CSL count win on multinational tax reporting

A CSL spokesperson echoed this, saying the $135 billion blood plasma products maker wanted a tax approach that was globally consistent and didn’t introduce unfair burdens on Australian companies.

“We are pleased that the legislation introduced to parliament this week has acknowledged the concerns of Australian businesses on various issues and look forward to further consultation on these important matters that are highly relevant to the competitiveness of Australian companies,” they said.

‘The intent is good, but there can be unintended consequences if these things aren’t thought through carefully.’

Dig Howitt, Cochlear boss

Corporate Tax Association executive director Michelle de Niese said the group believed Australia’s policies for country-by-country tax reporting should be in line with the EU’s approach.

“It is certainly a positive that the government is looking at the EU as the way forward in terms of our regime,” she said.

The government is still working on crafting a country-by-country reporting policy, however, with hopes that it will be formalised by the end of this year. Leigh said there would be continued consultation with industry on the issue.

“Over the coming months, we will work with industry and civil society on the appropriate level of disaggregated reporting. This will build on refinements we have already made to align our approach more closely with the European Union’s public country-by country regime,” he said.

He also pointed to the major improvements in tax integrity and transparency that would be achieved from the other measures of the bill which were introduced on Thursday.

These include changes to “thin capitalisation” rules, which will limit the amount of interest expenses that a company can deduct for tax purposes from July 1, 2023.

“This tax integrity measure is estimated to result in a gain to receipts of $720 million over the four years from 2022-23,” the minister’s office said in a statement on Friday.