Saturday 11 April 2015
Memo to North Coast Voices readers
North Coast Voices will not be posting commentary for the next two days.
Apart from our annual holiday between Christmas Day and New Year's Day, this is the first time this blog has not had a daily post since it commenced in 2007.
We apologize to our readers and hope to be back on Tuesday, 14 April 2015.
Labels:
NCV admin
Metgasco misses out on NSW compensation offer
The Australian 10 April 2015:
At close of business on Friday10 April 2015 the Australian Stock Exchange listed Metgasco's ordinary share price at 0.023 cents.
Metgasco Limited v Minister for
Resources and Energy
is listed for judgment in the NSW Supreme Court at 10am on Friday, 24 April
2015.
Labels:
Coal Seam Gas Mining,
law,
Metgasco,
Northern Rivers
Friday 10 April 2015
Coal Seam Gas miner Santos still under the spotlight concerning sponsorship of Queensland Police
The debate on mining company sponsorship of Queensland Police continues......
Photograph showing Queensland Police vehicles attending NSW Pilliga protest
against Santos CSG drilling: ABC News 7 April 2015
The fact
that the police refused to name the sponsors, indicates that the police
hierarchy know they have a vulnerability.
President
of the Australian Council for Civil Liberties Terry O'Gorman
Queensland
Police Commissioner Ian Stewart says he is standing by his decision not to
release the names of private companies who have sponsored the police service.
Mining
companies, banks, media organisations and security firms are among a raft of
sponsors behind almost $475,000 in donations to the Queensland Police Service
last financial year.
The donations
for this financial year are on track to reach the same level.
The ABC first
asked for a list of sponsors and the sponsorship amounts four months ago, after
environmentalists alleged it was a conflict of interest.
The QPS
executive has now provided two lists of donations and a brief description of
the programs, but the names have been withheld.
Speaking on
612 ABC Brisbane this afternoon, Commissioner Stewart said the sponsorship
arrangements were within the official policy and were a benefit to both the
community and the sponsors......
BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
The
Courier Mail
9 December 2014:
Santos said
there was nothing untoward in the sponsorship deal, in which the vehicles
attend public functions like caravan and camping shows.
A Santos GLNG
spokesman said the claims were ridiculous.
“This is just
one of our many investments that contribute to safety in regional Queensland,
which also include the CareFlight aeromedical evacuation service used by the
general community, the Rural Fire Service, the Royal Flying Doctor Service, and
road upgrade programs,’’ he said.
“We have been
supporting the Stay On Track Outback safe driving campaign since 2012.
ABC
News
8 December 2014:
Queensland
Police Commissioner Ian Stewart said Santos was one of a string of sponsors for
the campaign, aimed at tourists with caravans on remote roads.
Mr Stewart
said Santos had contributed about $40,000 to the program.
Labels:
mining,
police,
Rent-A-Cop,
Santos
Thursday 9 April 2015
While we are waiting for hearing transcripts to be published in the Australian Senate inquiry into tax avoidance and aggressive minimisation, here are a few 'facts' on record
This post is updated as new information becomes available.
In 2012-13, corporate tax revenue
collections totalled $66.9 billion, 28.3% of the $236.6 billion in total income
tax revenue, making it the second largest contributor to the tax revenue base
after individuals…..
For public companies, those listed on
the ASX account for 40.8% of net tax. The largest 200 ASX listed companies by
market capitalisation6 contribute 97% of the net tax of all ASX-listed
companies and the top 50 accounts for 82%.The financial services and mining
sectors accounted for over half of the total corporate income tax revenue.
Australia has a corporate effective tax rate of 30%.
This week the Senate Inquiry into tax avoidance and
aggressive minimisation by corporations registered in Australia and
multinational corporations operating in Australia began its public hearings.
Also this week The Sydney Morning Herald reported
that; Treasurer
Joe Hockey personally approved a decision to shield companies sending billions
of dollars offshore as part of apparent tax-dodging strategies from being
named. Tax Commissioner Chris Jordan said in a letter to the Senate committee
into corporate tax avoidance that Mr Hockey endorsed his decision not to
release the names of ten resources companies that transferred a combined $31.4
billion to Singapore in the financial year 2011– 2012 and
While Australian voters wait to see what
detail hearing transcripts may reveal here is a snapshot of what some companies, who all asserted that they complied with Australian
taxation law, had to say about their own effective tax rates in submissions to
the current Senate inquiry:
Auizon (formerly QR National
Limited) was privatised in 2010 and is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.
Aurizon asserts its low effective tax rate between 2011-13 arises as a result
of Aurizon recently entering the federal tax regime
Fortescue has eight
foreign subsidiaries which operate commercial businesses in their respective
jurisdictions.
Fortescue has a US$ functional
currency for income tax purposes.
Mirvac Limited operates the development business which comprises of
both residential and commercial development. Mirvac Property Trust maintains an
investment portfolio that invests in office, retail
and industrial assets. The Mirvac Group is an Australian business operating
principally in Australia; the group has negligible overseas operations or
investments.
Overseas operations and investments currently generate less than 0.2% total
revenue of the Mirvac Group.
Origin stated; with respect to effective tax rates we note
that we have been unable to reconcile Origin’s financial information and lodged
tax return data to the data presented in The Tax Justice Network - Australia report issued in September 2014. We have however provided our
internal analysis of effective tax rates for the last 10 financial years ended
30 June 2014….
“Normalised” is defined
as; Eliminating large once-off
adjustments such as the impact of impairments etc.
* ANZ Bank denies
having an effective tax rate of 27%
for the period 2004 to 2013. It asserts a tax rate of 29.3% in 2013 and, a global effective
tax rate of 32% in that same year.
* Rio Tinto stated;
the corporate income tax charge to the UK
statutory tax rate of 23%. The
effective corporate income tax rate on underlying earnings was 34.9%.
“Underlying earnings”
are; An alternative measure of earnings
which is reported by earnings Rio Tinto to provide greater understanding of the
underlying business performance of its operations.
The company reportedly set up a marketing hub in Singapore around 2005 when Rio Tinto Singapore Holdings Pte. Ltd was created. This marketing hub's effective tax rate is est. 5% per annum until 2022 and, Rio Tinto's Australian operations are billed for ore sales by Rio Tinto Singapore in order to transfer cash to this low tax country bypassing a percentage of Australian tax.
The company reportedly set up a marketing hub in Singapore around 2005 when Rio Tinto Singapore Holdings Pte. Ltd was created. This marketing hub's effective tax rate is est. 5% per annum until 2022 and, Rio Tinto's Australian operations are billed for ore sales by Rio Tinto Singapore in order to transfer cash to this low tax country bypassing a percentage of Australian tax.
* Newcrest Mining declined to state an effective tax
rate, instead stating its; taxation payment profile over the last decade
has been lower than would be anticipated by reference to its reported accounting
profit due entirely to the application of ordinary Australian taxation
rules…
* Macquarie Group stated;
Macquarie’s effective tax rate is largely
driven by the geographic location and mix of the income derived in any
particular reporting period. The Group’s tax rate has been 38% or higher for each of the last
four reporting periods. The amount of income tax paid will vary from the
Group’s effective tax rate in any given period……
* Google Australia did
not state an effective tax rate for its Australian operations. Instead stating
that globally its overall corporate tax rate in 2014 was about 19%.
Google Australia also
mentioned that Singapore had a tax rate of 17%
and reportedly
admitted that most of its
Australian revenue was booked by an affiliate business in Singapore, presumably
to take advantage of
Singapore’s lower corporate flat tax rate for profits above S$300,000.
* Lend Lease denied its
effective tax rate was 15% for the 10 year period to 30 June 2013. Citing instead a statutory
effective tax rate of 21.2%.
* BHP Billiton did not state the effective tax rate
on its Australian operations. Instead stating that its; average global
effective tax rate for the past three years is 29.3%.
All
calculations used in its submission are in US currency.
BHP Billiton has set up a marketing hub in low tax Singapore.
It refused to answer questions during the Senate inquiry hearing concerning details of this marketing hub.
However, a document titled BHP Billiton Marketing AG Singapore Branch Registration Number: F00006681W Annual Report Year ended 30 June 2014 became publicly available.
This document disclosed that for the period ending 30 June 2014 the company had an effective tax rate in Singapore of 17%.
The company having been granted the status of a Pioneer Service Company (Certificate No. COY-10- IHQ/B340-1/2) by the Singapore Government, the effective tax rate had no effect and therefore BHP Billiton paid no Singapore taxes between 1 July 2005 and 1 July 2015.
BHP Billiton has set up a marketing hub in low tax Singapore.
It refused to answer questions during the Senate inquiry hearing concerning details of this marketing hub.
However, a document titled BHP Billiton Marketing AG Singapore Branch Registration Number: F00006681W Annual Report Year ended 30 June 2014 became publicly available.
This document disclosed that for the period ending 30 June 2014 the company had an effective tax rate in Singapore of 17%.
The company having been granted the status of a Pioneer Service Company (Certificate No. COY-10- IHQ/B340-1/2) by the Singapore Government, the effective tax rate had no effect and therefore BHP Billiton paid no Singapore taxes between 1 July 2005 and 1 July 2015.
It has also been granted the Development
and Expansion incentive (Certificate No. SO5/1-23624909) which gives it a concessional tax rate of 5% from 2020.
BHP Billiton's total comprehensive income for the financial year 2013-14 ($941.174 million) appears to have been processed through its Singapore marketing hub and then repatriated to its head office incorporated
in Baar, Switzerland.
* AGL Energy denied that it
had an effective tax rate for the seven
years to 30 June 2013 of 24% and
that the average annual tax foregone by AGL was $26m per annum.
Instead
asserting that its effective tax rate for
those years was closer to the corporate tax rate of 30%.
It stated an effective tax
rate for the period ending 30 June 2014 of 28%
based on underlying profit before tax and, an effective tax rate of 25% for the same period based on
statutory profit before tax.
* Microsoft Australia stated
its effective tax rate in Australia for
each of fiscal years 2014, 2013, and 2012 was above Australia’s statutory tax
rate of 30%.
However, the
company’s regional operating centres in
Ireland, Puerto Rico & Singapore generated 81% of its foreign earnings in
2014 and these earnings appear to have a combined tax rate of 17.1%.
The Singapore operating
centre represents billions in customer revenue earned and operating expenses
incurred serving 18 countries throughout Asia Pacific, including Australia.
The profits earned throughout Asia Pacific are earned primarily by the
Singapore ROC group. Microsoft admitted that all $2 billion in Australian
2014 revenue was paid to its Singapore regional operating centre.
* Apple Pty Ltd incorporated
in Australia asserted it paid an effective tax rate of over 30% in Australia in the two years after
the Advanced Pricing Agreement with the Australian Tax Office has expired.
However, the Australian company is wholly-owned by Apple Ireland and the
majority of its revenue is transferred through billings to Ireland where it
would appear the effective tax rate can be as low as 12.5% for trading income and 25% on all other income including non-trading
income and non-qualifying foreign dividends.
News Corp and attitude to Australian taxation
It comes as no surprise that multinational media player News Corp Australia appears to believe it pays an adequate amount of corporate tax on its operations and carefully omits any mention of the group’s alleged tax avoidance measures in this country reportedly allowing it to repatriate $4.5 billion by making a "return of capital" to its New York parent over two years.
News Corp’s brief submission by invitation to the Senate Inquiry into tax avoidance and aggressive minimisation by corporations registered in Australia and multinational corporations operating in Australia stated:
Over the past five financial years, News Corp Australia, which employs close to 9,000 Australians, had an accounting profit before tax of $815.9m, and paid $417.3m in Australian taxes. During this same period, News Corp Australia paid an additional $900m in Australian goods and services, fringe benefit and payroll taxes.
At the same time it listed actual taxes paid (including withholding tax) in each year over those same five financial years:
* 2010 $113.9 million - effective tax rate of est. 23.1%
* 2011 $96.4 million
* 2012 $57.7 million
* 2013 $64.2 million - effective tax rate of 16.9%
* 2014 $85.1 million - effective tax rate est. 23.9%-26.4%
TOTAL $417.3 million
So getting back to that $4.5 billion sent overseas…..
In 2013 News Corp Australia had an accounting profit before taxes of $627.4 million, paid $64.2 million in Australian taxes and sent est $3.2 billion in shares from its Australian operations back to its U.S.A. parent company.
In 2014 News Corp Australia had an accounting profit before taxes of $355.9 million, paid $85.1 million in Australian taxes and sent $1.3 billion in cash from its Australian operations back to its U.S.A. parent company.
Which looks suspiciously like the parent company received a $4.5 billion windfall with a tax rate of under 4 per cent applying to this “repatriation”.
The Sydney Morning Herald on 6 April 2015 reported:
According to calculations by University of NSW accounting academic, Jeffrey Knapp, over the past 10 years, Mr Murdoch's companies here have paid income tax equivalent to a rate of 4.8 per cent on $6.8 billion in operating cash flows, or just 10 per cent of operating profits.
Note: In 2014 News Corp also received a court-ordered tax reimbursement for years between 2001-09 of $623.8 million (plus interest).
Election's over and it's same old, same old from the Nationals MP for Clarence
Nationals MP for Clarence Chris Gulaptis who has never voted anything but the Sydney-centric Liberal Party line had this to say in The Daily Examiner on 3 April 2015:
CHRIS Gulaptis has defended the downgrading of the Minister for the North Coast saying as Parliamentary Secretary he will have more time to take his constituents' North Coast issues to cabinet.
The Clarence MP's appointment came as part of the Baird Grant cabinet reshuffle announced on Wednesday.
If ever there was an empty promise it would be that one.
For the political tragics out there.....
Although the Nationals retained the seat, only 48.89% of those who voted in the Clarence electorate are known to have put Chris Gulaptis first on their ballot papers on 28 March 2015.
By 6 April and with final counting not yet completed, the swing away from him was 22 per cent after the distribution of preferences. Currently the margin for his seat stands at around 9.4 per cent - down from 31.4 per cent in 2011 reported by election analyst Antony Green.
Wednesday 8 April 2015
MANDATORY DATA RETENTION: Many a true word has been spoken in jest*
No-one was laughing in my house when this reply by the Australian Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, Jamie Briggs, turned up in the Twitter timeline of Crikey journalist Bernard Keane:
* An old saying of unknown origin
Labels:
Abbott Government,
Spies-R-Us
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