OECD pressed Australia to drop plan to reveal where multinationals pay tax

The FT reports today that the ‘organisation behind push for fairer corporate levies lobbied to water down disclosure rules’.

Talking to insiders, ‘close to the decision’ the article quotes one person with knowledge of the situation saying that:

’There was heavy, heavy opposition from the OECD to the bill and that was one of the critical factors behind the decision” to pull back from the measure.

Jason Ward, principal analyst at the Centre for International Corporate Accountability and Research, another pressure group, said he was very concerned by the development. “It’s a tragedy for everyone involved except for the [multinationals] who get to hide their affairs.

Alex Cobham, chief executive at the Tax Justice Network, a pressure group, said: “It is genuinely shocking to see it confirmed that the OECD lobbied its own member country against introducing a key measure to fight corporate tax abuse.”

The story is also covered in the Australian Financial Review