Google-affiliated drone delivery firm Wing has been accused of profit shifting during its world-first service currently rolling out in Canberra.

Key points: Wing Aviation's financial accounts showed it recorded payments of $3.2 million to its offshore corporate group

Wing Aviation's financial accounts showed it recorded payments of $3.2 million to its offshore corporate group Its tax expense during the period was listed as $144,000, after accruing more than $5 million in revenue in Australia

Its tax expense during the period was listed as $144,000, after accruing more than $5 million in revenue in Australia The company is using Canberra to trial drone deliveries

Financial results lodged with ASIC revealed Wing recorded payments of $3.2 million to the Alphabet group of companies, which includes Google, in 2018.

After accruing more than $5 million in revenue in Australia, the tax expense for the local arm was noted as $144,434.

Australia's company tax rate is 30 per cent, or approximately one third of profit.

Jason Ward, the principal analyst at the Centre for International Corporate Tax Accountability and Research, said the company was shifting profits and failing to fully detail its Australian finances.

"This company earns all of its revenue from the offshore parent entity and pays most of its expenses to the same entity and other related parties," he said.

"This enables the company to shift profits offshore and pay little or no tax in Australia."

A spokesperson for the company said "Wing does not disclose details about its financials beyond required public filings".

Its submission to an ACT inquiry in February stated Wing had made more than 3,000 deliveries, but the results do not show how much it received in delivery revenue.

Lack of information

The results state the "principal" activity of Wing in Australia is "to provide research and development support" for the US Wing entity.

The US entity appears to have paid several million dollars to the Australian firm for "research and development", but the exact amount is unclear.

Wing has sent millions of dollars to its related group of companies. ( Supplied: Wing.com )

"Despite this company being a subsidiary of one of the world's largest companies, it qualifies for reduced disclosure filings and does not have to comply with the full range of Australian accounting standards," Mr Ward said.

"Given the limited information in the filing it is hard to determine exactly what is happening and if the expenses are legitimate or not."

IBISWorld senior industry analyst Yin Yeoh reviewed Wing's results and said its wages were low compared to other delivery firms but it had a higher relative profitability.

"However, wage costs are anticipated to rise as the company expands its service areas," she said.

It paid a little over $400,000 in wages, super and other staff benefits for the year.

Political context

Wing, in its submission to the ACT inquiry, stated the trials "have raised Canberra's profile globally".

"This profile has the potential to further attract innovative start-up companies to Canberra, and places Canberra on the map as an advanced forward-thinking city," the submission read.

Profit shifting by multinationals has been in the spotlight since the Panama Papers were leaked in 2015.

One of Parliament's most vocal critics of profit shifting is Labor's assistant treasury spokesman, Andrew Leigh, the local member of the electorate in which Wing has located its new depot.

Dr Leigh's office said he was unavailable to provide comment on Thursday.

Gai Brodtmann, the former federal Labor MP for the southern Canberra electorate who stepped down earlier this year, raised concerns about Wing's operations in her electorate in 2018 linked to noise complaints from constituents.

The national Department of Infrastructure announced a review into drone noise in June.

Research by AlphaBeta, commissioned by Wing, found that drone delivery could generate an additional 600,000 annual retail transactions in the ACT in 2030, worth around $30 million in revenue.