Government launches inquiry into missing tax billions from oil and gas sector
The Turnbull government has acknowledged for the first time that Australia is failing to secure a fair share of revenue from oil and gas companies, with Treasurer Scott Morrison calling a review into the tax scheme governing offshore projects.
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
Heath Aston
30 November 2016
The Turnbull government has acknowledged for the first time that Australia is failing to secure a fair share of revenue from oil and gas companies, with Treasurer Scott Morrison calling a review into the tax scheme governing offshore projects.
In a stunning admission more than 12 months after Fairfax Media revealed concerns that the petroleum resource rent tax was being gamed by the biggest fossil fuel multinationals, Mr Morrison conceded on Wednesday: "We think it is a problem."
Mr Morrison acknowledged concern that the PRRT was not operating as it was "originally intended" and said the inquiry would "address the reasons for the rapid decline of Australian PRRT revenues".
The Tax Justice Network welcomed the inquiry on Wednesday.
"The Government needs to make sure that the Australian community is getting the best return on our non-renewable resources for the benefit of funding our hospitals, care of the elderly and people with disabilities, our schools and our universities," said TJN spokesman Mark Zirnsak.