Credit: Dreamstime
IBM A/NZ Holdings, SAP Australia, Schneider Electric Australia Holdings and Atlassian Australia (1) are among the big tech companies operating in the local market that paid no tax in 2017-18 despite reporting millions, sometimes billions in total income.
This is according to data collated by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and included in its latest annual Corporate tax transparency report for the 2017–18 income year, published on 12 December.
This is the fifth annual report on corporate tax transparency by the ATO. It is designed to inform the public debate about tax policy, particularly in relation to the corporate tax system.
The latest report is based on the 2017–18 income tax returns of some of the largest corporate entities operating in Australia, specifically Australian public and foreign-owned entities with total income of $100 million or more and Australian-owned resident private entities with total income of $200 million or more.
In terms of the local channel landscape, some vendors, distributors, integrators and resellers make an appearance on this year’s list, and are among those organisations that, according to the ATO, paid no tax in the 2017-18 reporting year.
However, as the ATO notes, it should be kept in mind that the aggregate figures included in the list cannot reflect the complexity of the tax system, the relationships between entities, the calculations behind the numbers or the extent and nature of any ATO activity.
“It is important to remember that corporate income tax is payable on profits, not gross income; in any given year, a significant percentage of even the largest companies make losses, not just for tax purposes, but also for accounting purposes; [and] it reflects the tax returns as lodged, and does not reflect subsequent ATO compliance activity,” the ATO has said previously in relation to its report.
With that in mind, here are the top tech players in Australia that paid no tax last year, in alphabetical order:
ASG Group Ltd
Total income: $400.5 million
Taxable income: zero
Tax payable: zero
Atlassian Australia 1 Pty Ltd
Total income: $1 billion
Taxable income: $138 million
Tax payable: zero
Capgemini Australia Pty Ltd
Total income: $320.9 million
Taxable income: zero
Tax payable: zero
Datacom Australia Holdings Pty Ltd
Total income: $505 million
Taxable income: zero
Tax payable: zero
Hills Ltd
Total income: $253.2 million
Taxable income: zero
Tax payable: zero
IBM A/NZ Holdings Pty Ltd
Total income: $3 billion
Taxable income: $22.9 million
Tax payable: zero
Kordia Pty Ltd
Total income: $107.1 million
Taxable income: zero
Tax payable: zero
MYOB Group Ltd
Total income: $366.8 million
Taxable income: $114.3 million
Tax payable: zero
NBN Co Ltd
Total income: $2 billion
Taxable income: Zero
Tax payable: zero
NEC Australia Pty Ltd
Total income $436 million
Taxable income: Zero
Tax payable: Zero
Netcomm Wireless Ltd
Total income: $176.6 million
Taxable income: $18 million
Tax payable: Zero
NextDC Ltd
Total income: $162.1 million
Taxable income: Zero
Tax payable: Zero
NTT Australia Pty Ltd
Total income: $198.9 million
Taxable income: Zero
Tax payable: Zero
OfficeMax International Pty Ltd
Total income: $306.6 million
Taxable income: Zero
Tax payable: Zero
Ricoh Australia Pty Ltd
Total income: $393.5 million
Taxable income: $812,713
Tax payable: Zero
SAP Australia Pty Limited
Total income: $1.1 billion
Taxable income: Zero
Tax payable: Zero
Schneider Electric Australia Holdings Pty Ltd
Total revenue: $1.3 billion
Taxable income: $16.2 million
Tax payable: Zero
Sony Australia Limited Ltd
Total income: $1.3 billion
Taxable income: Zero
Tax payable: Zero
Speedcast International Ltd
Total income: $304.8 million
Taxable income: Zero
Tax payable: Zero
Tech Data (ANZ) Pty Ltd
Total income: $441.2 million
Taxable income: Zero
Tax payable: Zero
Toshiba (Australia) Pty Ltd
Total income: $236.6 million
Taxable income: Zero
Tax payable: Zero
Tower Software Engineering Pty Ltd (HP Inc) -- Tower Software Engineering is a holding company for HP PPS Australia Pty Ltd, which is itself a holding company for HP Inc (HP acquired Tower Software in 2008).
Total income: $1.6 billion
Taxable income: Zero
Tax payable: Zero
Trend Micro Australia Pty Ltd
Total income $132.2 million
Taxable income: $26.2 million
Tax payable: Zero
Unisys Australia Pty Ltd
Total income: $242.4 million
Taxable income: $2.1 million
Tax payable: Zero
Verizon Australia Pty Ltd
Total income: $174.6 million
Taxable income: Zero
Tax payable: Zero
Vodafone Hutchison Australia Pty Ltd
Total income: $3.5 billion
Taxable income: Zero
Tax payable: Zero
Winc Australia Holdings Pty Ltd
Total income: $215.3 million
Taxable income: Zero
Tax payable: Zero
Reporting for 2016-17 (information was not available as of the cut-off date of the previous annual report)
CSG Ltd
Total income: $131.4 million
Taxable income: Zero
Tax payable: Zero
