Tax avoidance by multinational corporations reduces the funding available for the essential public services that we all rely on and much more needs to be done to tackle tax dodging.  Increasingly our members are facing tighter budgets which impact on the ability to meet the community’s needs in many areas.  Australians need stronger laws and more transparency on multinationals tax affairs in order to raise the additional revenue needed for public investments that will create a better society and stronger economic future for all of us.

Australia can and should be a world leader on this.

Proposed new laws, the Bill is currently before a Senate committee, would require Australian public companies to disclose all subsidiaries, rather than just those in jurisdictions that could be regarded as ‘tax havens’ as an important step for greater transparency.

CPSU in its submission noted that the Government has delayed the introduction of country-by-country (CBC) reporting pending further consultation and this is disappointing.

CPSU recommended that the Government proceed with public CBC reporting and adopt the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standard rather than the flawed European Union standard.

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has developed a tax standard for country-by-country reporting that is highly regarded internationally.  The standard is supported by large global corporations and some of the world's biggest investors.

A public country-by-country reporting standard would enhance transparency consistent with the goals of the Government's legislation.

Adoption of the GRI standards would remove one of the most important barriers to tackling corporate tax avoidance in Australia and globally.

CPSU welcomed the opportunity to make a submission to this inquiry into the Treasury Laws Amendment (Making Multinationals Pay Their Fair Share – Integrity and Transparency) Bill 2023 [Provisions].