Facebook, Uber, Microsoft and Apple all paid a 30 per cent tax rate on more than $666 million in taxable income in the 2018 financial year. Between them, the firms earned $12.5 billion from Australian consumers last year. Google, which made $1 billion alone in 2017-18, paid only 19 per cent tax after claiming deductions. Loading Mr Morrison said US retailer Amazon "was back within months" after it threatened to boycott Australia following the application of GST to online purchases last year. "We held firm when it came to standing up to those companies," Mr Morrison said. "What occurs in consumer law, what occurs in taxation law, should occur in the digital world as much as it does in the real world." The government will wait for international cover to impose any further sales taxes in Australia, wary of backlash from Washington after France pushed ahead with a 3 per cent sales tax that will mostly target Silicon Valley companies. The digital businesses rely on online revenue and have limited physical presence outside the US.

Mr Morrison's meetings in New Delhi and Tokyo, his first overseas trip next year, will form part of the broader discussions on the treatment of digital platforms. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will also lobby for a multilateral consensus to be established at OECD and G20 meetings next year amid resistance from US negotiators. On Thursday, Mr Morrison, Mr Frydenberg and Communications Minister Paul Fletcher announced their plans to address the market power of Facebook and Google and scrutinise their activities. The trio said regulation of the tech industry was "not only to minimise the harm but to maximise the opportunities" for Australia's digital economy. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video The package has received a mixed response across the tech and media industries, and the government has threatened to escalate the crackdown if it does not see sufficient behavioural change in the tech sector by next year. Under the extensive strategy to prevent an online "Wild West", tech companies will be required to negotiate with traditional media outlets under a new code of conduct that will tackle the vexed issues of revenue sharing and the influence of online algorithms. The government will step in with a mandatory code if it is not satisfied with progress made by late 2020.

"We're very clear that we retain the right to take stronger action if it doesn't produce the right results," Mr Fletcher said, describing the government's announcements as a "reasonable balance" to ensure fair business dealings, protect competition in the market and protect users of online platforms. Loading "The companies are on notice. The government is not messing around," Mr Frydenberg said. The government said the relationships between tech giants and traditional media were complex and brought benefits for both parties but agreed "digital platforms need to do more" to be transparent given their impact on news organisations' activities. Another key plank of the package will see the competition watchdog establish a dedicated unit, with $27 million and enforcement powers, to investigate the activities of digital platforms. Under the direction of Mr Frydenberg, the unit's first priority will be probing the companies' advertising technology and algorithms.

To address the complex issue of levelling out regulation across old and new forms of media, the government will look at uniform classification rules and Australian content rules for streaming services. Loading To protect consumers' data, it will examine changes to privacy legislation to boost protections and increase penalties for breaches. The government will also move towards creating a digital platforms ombudsman, establishing a pilot scheme for the body that will resolve disputes between the services and users. While some changes will be be pursued immediately, the government rejected some of the 23 recommendations put forward by the competition regulator and approached others with caution, saying they will take a long time. Competition tsar Rod Sims has pointed to the code of conduct as the most critical part of Australia's efforts. On Thursday, he said he was delighted with the government's announcements and that the voluntary code would allow for negotiation, with ACCC oversight, and then the potential for intervention.