Andrew Leigh

via shadow assistant treasury spokesman, Andrew Leigh, has penned his thoughts for Guardian Australia. Describing how tax havens make it make it “frighteningly easy for firms to divert profits onto their sunny tax-free shores”, he pledges that Labor will shine a light on the schemes. 

He writes:

Labor will demand companies report use of tax havens as a material tax risk to their shareholders, and create a publicly accessible register so we know the true owners of companies.
If a company wants to tender for a major government project, it must disclose its country of tax domicile. If you are headquartered in Belize rather than Brisbane, taxpayers have a right to know. For superannuation funds, we will work with the industry to develop guidelines for tax haven investment.

Read the full piece by clicking the link below.

We can’t rely on leaks to enforce tax policy. Labor will crack down on havens | Andrew Leigh

PARADISE PAPERSThe surprising journey your money takes after buying a pair of Nikes

By Four Corners with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists

Extensive efforts by Nike to shift profits from high-tax countries to no-tax countries and minimise its tax bill internationally have been exposed.

An investigation by Four Corners has revealed intricate workings of the world’s largest sportswear retailer’s tax manoeuvring, based on 13.4 million documents revealed in the Paradise Papers leak. 

The investigation, in conjunction with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists from documents obtained by German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung, shows the Australian company is owned by — and pays large amounts of money to — Nike companies housed in the low-tax destination of the Netherlands.

The company’s own filings show that Nike has only paid tax of 1.4 per cent on accumulated global offshore profits of $US12.2 billion.

But how do they do it?

The Paradise Papers 

Four Corners will take you inside the secretive world of tax havens where corporations and the wealthy operate far from public view. 

In an investigation that spans the globe, Four Corners will reveal the lengths some of the world's most powerful business figures and global corporations are going to, to avoid paying tax.

“We're seeing things that people never thought would see the light of day."

As tax authorities in Australia and across the globe try to claw back money from the big multinationals, reporter Marian Wilkinson will show how a web of offshore operators help organise elaborate international tax avoidance schemes

Four Corners