Richard Di Natale says Australian democracy ‘broken’ and system being propped up by Labor and Liberal parties

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Thirteen companies that paid no tax in 2015-16 made $1.7m in political donations to the Liberal and Labor parties in that year, the Greens have complained.

On Thursday the Australian tax office released fresh tax data that showed 36% of the 2,043 largest public companies and multinational entities in Australia paid no tax in 2015-16.

An analysis by the Greens cross-referencing the data with Australian Electoral Commission disclosures of donations in that year found that 13 companies that paid no tax despite total incomes of $33bn also donated $1.7m to the major parties.

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The largest of these was Pratt Holdings Pty Ltd, which donated $850,000 and paid no tax on a total income of $2.7bn.

Santos donated $134,584 and paid no tax on a total income of $3.4bn. Chevron Australia Pty Ltd donated $118,225 and paid no tax on a total income of $2.1bn.

Network Ten Pty Ltd donated $103,705 in 2015-16 before going into administration in June 2017 and being bought by the US broadcaster CBS in August.

The remaining nine companies that paid no tax but made donations were: Metro Property Development Pty Ltd ($71,500), Careers Australia Group ($69,550), the National Roads and Motorists Association Ltd ($60,990), Austal Ltd ($59,589), Bluescope Steel Limited ($54,200), Pfizer Australia Pty Limited ($45,600), Origin Energy ($42,703), Transurban Limited ($35,720) and Whitehaven Coal Limited ($22,000).

Company tax is paid at the rate of 30% on profit, not revenue. The ATO notes that companies may have lower taxable incomes due to legitimate deductions including business losses, tax concessions, investing in Australian companies or expanding offshore.

Companies’ political donations are not tax deductible. While there is no suggestion these companies reduced their tax bills through donations, the Greens highlighted them as an example of the links between big business and major political parties.

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The Greens leader, Richard Di Natale, said: “Our democracy is broken when 13 companies have paid zero dollars in tax but can still find $1.7m to donate to the Labor and Liberal parties.

“This information exposes that simply cracking down on foreign donations will not end the influence of big money over our political system,” he said. “Until we reform our entire donations system, Labor and the Liberals are simply propping this broken system up.”

On Tuesday the Turnbull government announced new laws to combat foreign interference, including by banning foreign political donations.

Constitutional law experts have warned the ban may be challenged as a possible breach of the implied freedom of political communication in the constitution.