Tech giants Google and Facebook are now paying taxes in Australia based on revenues made in the country, instead of shifting income abroad to low-tax countries, the government has said.

Australian Treasurer Scott Morrison told the Australian parliament that the changes to the tax system will raise an extra 2bn Australian dollars ($1.5bn; £1.2bn) in this tax year from multinational firms, AP reports.

The law, dubbed the "Google Tax," targets global companies with annual incomes exceeding AU$1bn.

Mr Morrison said the government had given the Australian Taxation Office "the power, the resources and the penalties to get the job done".

"Facebook ... are now booking their Australian revenue in Australia, not in Ireland," he said, adding the multinational firms were abandoning contrived structures and restructuring their models to show sales booked in Australia.

When the law was proposed in early 2015, the government said there were 30 global corporations that paid little or no tax on the profits from their Australian operations.

Global firms are continuing to route billions of euro in profit to and through Ireland to avoid tax, according to a recent report by Oxfam Ireland.

Multinationals, including Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook and Google, have their European headquarters in Ireland, which has a 12.5 per cent headline rate of corporate income tax – the second-lowest in the EU.

European authorities have recently become much more aggressive in their approach to the agreements struck between multinational companies and EU member states.

10 of the biggest tax havens in the world Show all 10 1 /10 10 of the biggest tax havens in the world 10 of the biggest tax havens in the world Luxembourg There are an estimated £2.5 trillion shares of mutual funds registered in the Grand Duchy, £1 trillion of which cannot be traced to an owner 10 of the biggest tax havens in the world Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands contain 6% of the world's total banking assets, but just 0.000008% of its population 10 of the biggest tax havens in the world Isle of Man David Cameron has said the Isle of Man, where there is no corporation, capital gains or inheritance tax, should not be considered a tax haven 10 of the biggest tax havens in the world Jersey There are over £3.5 billion assets per square mile on the self-governing Channel Island 10 of the biggest tax havens in the world Ireland Ireland made headlines last year when it emerged Apple was registered in the country in order to dodge over £40bn in taxes 10 of the biggest tax havens in the world Mauritius The Mauritian government notionally charges corporation tax, but companies can easily make this back through generous tax credits for foreign businesses 10 of the biggest tax havens in the world Bermuda Google holds more than £30bn in offshore cash reserves, primarily via Bermuda 10 of the biggest tax havens in the world Monaco A popular domicile for super-rich private individuals, Monaco has the most expensive property in the world. £1 million will buy just 225 square feet 10 of the biggest tax havens in the world Switzerland Switzerland has such secretive banking laws that it took until the 1990s to secure the release of Nazi cash reserves 10 of the biggest tax havens in the world Bahamas David Cameron's father ran an offshore fund which hired Bahamas residents to complete paperwork, thus dodging British tax bills

Last month, EU finance ministers agreed on new measures to close some tax loopholes that have enabled multinational companies operating in both EU and non-EU countries to avoid paying taxes, according to Reuters.