From the Australia Institute
New analysis of data published by the Australian Tax Office (ATO) shows that five of the gas industry’s most prominent companies have paid no income tax for at least the past seven years, despite a combined income from their Australian operations of $138 billion.
Four of the five members of the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (APPEA) (Arrow Energy, Australia-Pacific LNG, Chevron and ExxonMobil) that haven’t paid any income tax are foreign owned resulting in all profits heading straight offshore.
Key Findings:
- In a 2012 APPEA claimed Queensland coal seam gas LNG companies would have paid around $11.2 billion in federal income tax by 2020. They have paid almost none.
- In 2015 Chevron estimated it would have paid around $4 billion in “direct taxations and royalties” by 2020. It has paid no income tax or resource tax over that period.
- In 2013 Shell claimed that its Prelude floating LNG project would pay $12 billion in taxes over the life of the project. Shell has since acknowledged it will never pay PRRT has paid no income tax since 2015.
- An eighth company, Australian company Santos, paid just $6 million income tax on $28.9 billion of income, and paid no income tax from 2015 to 2018 and 2020.
- A thorough overhaul of taxation of the oil and gas industry in Australia is long overdue.
“It’s unbelievable that you can make $138 billion and pay nothing in tax. Our governments should not be letting this happen and we need an overhaul of how the oil and gas industry is taxed in Australia,” said Mark Ogge, principal adviser at the Australia Institute.
“The gas companies promised us billions in revenue and instead we end up with little in our pockets and a whole lot more climate impacts.
“We trust our politicians to tax our natural resources to the benefit of all Australians, but instead some of the largest gas miners, members of APPEA, are paying absolutely nothing.
“The federal government is virtually giving the resource away for free, gift wrapped in subsidies, mostly to foreign-owned companies, many of whom pay little if any tax.
“Imagine if you trusted an agent to sell your house to get the best deal possible, but instead they gave it to their mate for next to nothing. This is what is happening with our gas resources.
“Far greater scrutiny should be given to the close ties between some of our political representatives and the oil and gas companies who benefit from their largesse with our money.”
RELATED RESEARCH
APPEA members who pay no income tax
International Tax Agreements Act 1953 (Double Tax Act) as amended in 2022
www.cairnsnews.org 
I can remember when Kerry Packer was being grilled over the naked flames for his lack of “contributions” to the TAX rort;
Can’t recall who the senator was that asked him why he pays so little in TAX to Australia (Government)?
His reply was brilliant and will stay with i always;
“Well”, Kerry stated, “I pay as little tax as possible because i can afford better Lawyers than you”
He with the most money wins is basically the state of play still to this day
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CHEVRON sat in Senate Inquiry, and told they would not pay Tax in this Country till 2035, And totally legal to do so under Australian Tax law of Reach and Development, not sticking up for big oil,gas, But Austarlian laws are just Crap to Allow Rape and Pillage.
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Are politicians really there for the Australian communities?
In my opinion politicians aren’t there for the greater good of all Australians.
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David Newell… so that the rich can get richer and the poor can get poorer. This is otherwise known as the Natural Order.
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If only it were as bad as that.
Robert Menzies, Australia’s longest reigning traitor Prime Minister, created the Double Taxation Act to enable any foreign corporation to be exempt from paying tax in Australia, if they pay tax overseas. Singapore cast its financial throw net over this rort by enabling corporations to register in Singapore and pay a tiny tax.
Impossible as this seems, it gets worse. Government bestows generous exploration and development grants, so that we taxpayers not only carry the nation, we subsidise corporate profiteering. It has been calculated that the corporate share of Australia’s tax revenue is 2%. The remaining 98% is covered by wage and salary earners.
Those who imagine ‘business’ and the wealthy pay a huge share are delusional. They might whinge and moan about their tax burden but it is all posturing and theatre. They pay next to no tax at all. A good accountant can reduce business tax to one dollar per year, and the wealthy have capital gains and family trusts to hide behind.
There is only one way to fix this corrupt mountain of rorts and that is to adopt a mandatory electronic debit tax, run for free by the banks, which would enable tax to be collected at a rate of 2%. I am not kidding. With everybody paying their share, 2% of GDP would cover all government expenditures.
Some three decades ago, an electronic debit tax was put to Australians in a nationwide survey and 98% supported it. Funny that. But Rupert Murdoch and Kery Packer refused to publicise this fact.
An electronic debit tax is included in the oziz4oziz.com/ Manifesto.
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j madison
Peter Costello, the same bastard that virtually gave away Australian owned Ports and Docks to Foreign “investment” firms while he ordered AFP to force Aussies on Strike who knew about the “deal” off of the ports and called the Strikes “Un-Australian”;
The same arsehole that stole hundreds (forget amount) of millions from the coffers of The People and “invested” in off shore markets (tobacco was one) and called it ‘The Futures Fund’, never to be seen or heard of again;
Peter Costello, another of the Treasonous scum
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Why are these people singling out the oil and gas companies? This Law brought in by ” pig iron” Bob Menzies and never repealed by any subsequent junta, applies to all foreign owned Companies, with the proviso that they must pay tax in the country they are registered. ( Usually the Bahamas).
Our Local member of Parliament at the time, asked Treasurer Costello, why he hadn’t repealed this shameful legislation, his response was, “Mind your business and keep out of things that don’t concern you.”!
Australia is the world’s greatest tax haven for foreign companies. This might explain how pretend Prime Ministers make huge amounts of money during their tenure. It is in the interests of foreign companies to see that this lucrative business continues.
Meanwhile Australia companies and individuals are ruthlessly ground down by the ATO. It suits Rothschild’s to have this incentive in place. It prevents Australian owned Companies from competing here against those they own, like Woolworths.
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Is there any better argument to stop paying the bastards that do nothing but cause hardship in your life?
1953; Same year dear ol’ Lizzie swore an oath to a Foreign Crown; Can it be coincidence? I doubt it;
1954 Flags Act that changed our Federal (Federated) Land Flag from the 6 point Red Ensign to the Corporate Blue Flag; Another coincidence?;
1957 Lizzie told Australia that she could no longer interfere in the affairs of the Commonwealth; Another coincidence?;
No more shares in The Commonwealth via The Citizenship act; Another coincidence?;
Australians priced out of their own Public Resource market via the Lima Agreement….i guess that must be another coincidence too?;
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So why do the general public need to pay tax?
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