FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 28 April 2020

Contact: Clancy Moore, National Director Publish What You Pay

clancy.moore@actionaid.org / 0410 508 051

In response to calls from the Minerals Council of Australia to reduce the corporate income tax rate, advocacy coalition Publish What You Pay (PWYP) has renewed calls for Australian and multinational mining, oil and gas companies to contribute their fair share of tax.

Australian Tax Office data from 2017/18 showed some big mining, oil and gas companies paid little or no income tax. Woodside, Shell, Exxon and Chevron paid zero income tax despite raking in more than $25 billion in total income for the financial year. Glencore’s mining arms paid around 9% income tax whilst Iluka Resources paid just 7% tax. Big miners Rio Tinto, BHP and Fortescue all paid between 27% and 30% tax on their income for 2017/2018.

“Now more than ever, large mining, gas and oil companies must embrace and not avoid their contribution to maintaining Australia’s world class hospitals and health care system” said PWYP Australia’s National Director, Clancy Moore.

“Instead of contributing less, the government should consider a short-term levy on highly profitable industries, such as mining, to boost government spending on health, infrastructure and overseas aid for less developed countries tackling COVID-19,” Moore said. “Governments must urgently fix the royalty regime for offshore oil and gas so Australian’s get a fairer return from the extraction of our natural resources.”

There are approximately 700 ASX listed mining, oil and gas companies operating in over 100 countries globally. A large number are doing business in Indonesia, Southern Africa and PNG where communities will be hit much harder by COVID-19 than Australia.

Many ASX listed mining companies and multinationals doing business in Australia are also registered in tax havens. PWYP research shows that at least eight companies operating in Africa are incorporated in tax havens such as Bermuda, British Virgin Islands and Switzerland.

“Publish What You Pay members estimated that in 2015, Australian mining companies funneled over $1 billion in profits out of Africa using tax havens. That’s over $300 million that should have been paid in taxes to the governments in the poorest region in the world.” Moore said. “As seen in France and Denmark, any support for companies must not include companies that use tax havens and must include robust human rights protections.”

Whist a giant player in mining, gas and oil globally, Australia is a minnow when it comes to revenue transparency. Unlike Canada, UK, EU and Norway, Australia is yet to introduce laws requiring extractive companies to publicly disclose their payments to governments at a project-by-project level in countries where they do business.

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About Publish What You Pay Australia Publish What You Pay Australia is a coalition of 30 humanitarian, faith-based, environmental, anti-corruption, research and union organisations campaigning for greater transparency and accountability in the extractive industries. PWYP Australia works with the global Publish What You Pay coalition, a network of over 700 member organisations in more than 50 countries around the world. The current members of Publish What You Pay Australia are: Action Aid Australia, Aid Watch, Australian Conservation Foundation , Australian Council for International Development, A Billion Little Stones, Burma Campaign Australia, Caritas Australia, Catholic Mission, ChildFund Australia, Columban Mission Institute, Conservation Council of Western Australia, CFMEU – Mining and Energy, CAER – Corporate Analysis. Enhanced Responsibility, Economists at Large, Friends of the Earth Australia, Global Poverty Project, Greenpeace Australia Pacific, Human Rights Law Centre, Jubilee Australia, Mineral Policy Institute, Oaktree Foundation, Oxfam Australia, Search Foundation, SJ Around The Bay, Tear Australia, Transparency International Australia, Union Aid Abroad – APHEDA, Uniting Church in Australia – Synod of Victoria and Tasmania and World Vision Australia.