Nats won’t follow Australia and UK in crackdown on multinational tax avoidance

Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, July 23rd, 2017 - 14 comments
Categories: accountability, capitalism, class war, Judith Collins, national, tax - Tags: , , , ,

If you’re an ordinary Kiwi the government will pursue you to the ends of the earth for every last tax dollar. If you’re a big wealthy multinational corporation – meh.

Govt shies away from ‘draconian’ penalty to stop multinational tax dodgers

Tax avoidance by multinationals is better dealt with by an international treaty than harsher measures brought in by Australia and the United Kingdom, Revenue Minister Judith Collins says.

In an interview with TV3’s The Nation, the minister said she had not ruled out the idea of diverted profit tax, which comes into effect in Australia this month for global companies.

But Collins said the 40 per cent tax penalty Australia was using was “very draconian”.

What’s Australia doesn’t seem to think so. A fine is considerably less “draconian” than what the law allows for domestic tax evasion – why the special treatment for multinationals?

​”That is a pretty harsh measure which might sound great, but even Australia is saying they’re expecting $100m and the size of their economy [is] five or six times our size.

Assuming this estimate is honest and correct – 20 million isn’t worth the bother of collecting? Since when?

“We believe we can get pretty much the same result or even better working with the the OECD.” The Government’s preference is to be part of an OECD’s treaty on BEPS (base erosion and profit shifting), which aims to stop loopholes letting companies to shift profits to low or no-tax locations.

That excuse is just waffle. The BEPS is all well and good, and NZ has recently joined, fine. But Australia and the UK are also in BEPS, they don’t consider it enough, They have additional measures as noted above. So why no additional measures in NZ? Why won’t the Nats follow Australia and UK in a crackdown on multinational tax avoidance?

14 comments on “Nats won’t follow Australia and UK in crackdown on multinational tax avoidance ”

  1. Cinny 1

    Maybe Judith isn’t willing to crack down on multinational tax avoidance because it could upset her husbands offshore business colleagues?

  2. DoublePlusGood 2

    Panamanian bank accounts.

    • Tamati Tautuhi 2.1

      The Panamanian monk has now resigned, we were to be the Financial Hub of the South Pacific ?

      The Switzerland of the South Pacific ?

  3. Incognito 3

    Maybe Crusher Collins is going a bit soft; she seems to have lost her bark.

    I’m all for draconian and even more for very draconian when it comes to levelling the playing field.

    • Richard McGrath 3.1

      “I’m all for draconian and even more for very draconian when it comes to levelling the playing field.”

      So you support forced equality of outcome, regardless of effort?

      • Stuart Munro 3.1.1

        We might have more sympathy for her ‘effort’ if she did not indulge in large scale and systematic lawbreaking with respect to unprocessed kauri.

  4. “We believe we can get pretty much the same result or even better working with the the OECD.”

    If that was truly the case then why do we have bi-lateral trade agreements? Surely, it would be better to have a global organisation with global rules?

    Oh, wait…

    We do have such an organisation and such rules.

    Everyone seems to be ignoring it lately and going off on their own.

    This would indicate that it’s actually not better than having good local rules.

    So why no additional measures in NZ? Why won’t the Nats follow Australia and UK in a crackdown on multinational tax avoidance?

    Can’t go round having the rich pay tax now can we? Hell, they may not actually remain rich if we held them to the same account as beneficiaries.

  5. mosa 5

    The more things change the more they stay the same……for those with wealth.

    Nationals bill boards are spot on…… New Zealand is number one for the rich.

    Number one for tax fraud.

  6. The Other Mike 6

    Easier (and better politically) to go after benes…..

  7. Tamati Tautuhi 7

    Multinationals are nothing but parasites which destroy local industry and businesses, the National Party need to wake up ?

    Much easier to focus on beneficaries and taxing paper delivery boys ?

  8. CLEANGREEN 8

    NATIONAL = NO SERIOUS POLITICAL WILL TO PRODUCE ANY GOOD POLICY TO RE SKILL OUR YOUNG AS WE IN 1960’S HAD.

    [lprent: Banned for 1 week for SHOUTING. ]

  9. Richard McGrath 9

    A crackdown on something that’s legal? What’s next – a crackdown on Mars Bars?

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