Despite $22bn promise, Adani has paid zero corporate tax in Australia and experts think it won’t ever pay a cent

With expert quotes from CICTAR’s Jason Ward, the Guardian reports on how the coal mining giant Advani regularly reports annual losses, despite strong revenue. And suggests that this is, in part, due to related party payments.

Adani’s Carmichael mine, and rail and port operations, are among the most politically divisive projects in Australia. While critics usually raise environmental concerns, there’s also a question over its economic benefits for Australia.

The Guardian reports that, despite recording strong revenue, Adani’s Australian assets regularly report annual losses, in large part due to large annual payments to related parties for interest and lease expenses.

It also pays for services conducted by other Adani entities as the coal moves through the logistics chain from mine to export.

Jason Ward, principal analyst at CICTAR, told the paper that the level of related-party transactions at Adani’s Australian operations is “pretty unprecedented”.

“My judgment on this is that this company is absolutely set up to never make taxable profit,” Ward says.

“The related-party transactions are so big and wild and all over the map that this company will never make a profit on paper and will never pay a cent of tax.”