Australia’s media code will set a dangerous precedent: Google
Google recently announced a US$1 billion global investment to license content for a new product, News Showcase, which is rolling out first in Germany and Brazil.
Google and Australian tax authorities has reached a settlement on Wednesday where the tech-giant agreed to pay 482 million Australian dollars (USD 327 million) following a decade-old legal battle.
The settlement covers the payment of taxes owed for 2008-2018, and brought to 1.25 billion Australian dollars the amount recovered from global e-commerce titans including Microsoft, Apple and Facebook.
“This settlement is another great outcome for the Australian tax system,” said Deputy Commissioner Mark Konza, who has spearheaded the ATO’s Tax Avoidance Taskforce.
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“It adds to the significant success of the ATO in positively changing the behaviour of digital taxpayers and significantly increasing the tax they pay in Australia,” he added.
The ATO launched its crackdown on multinational companies’ accounting practices in 2016 with the adoption of an anti-tax avoidance law and the launch of the taskforce.
Konza said on Wednesday that the operation of the tax avoidance taskforce had been extended until 2023, ensuring that the ATO is able to make the multinational digital players pay their taxes on sales revenue from Australian customers.
(With input from agencies)
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