4 July 2024

New legislation to ensure multinationals pay a fairer share

Note

Joint media release with
The Hon Dr Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury
Assistant Minister for Employment

The Albanese Government has introduced legislation to deliver on our election commitment to improve tax transparency and integrity.

This is all about ensuring multinational companies pay a fairer share of tax in Australia.

To pay for the things that matter most to Australians like healthcare, education and defence, it’s important that multinationals that operate in Australia pay a reasonable amount of tax and that’s what our legislation will help to achieve.

The new laws will set a 15 per cent global minimum tax and domestic minimum tax for all multinational enterprise groups with an annual global revenue of at least EUR 750 million (approximately A$1.2 billion) effective from 1 January 2024.

These measures bring us into line with many other nations, including the biggest economies in the world that are all cracking down on multinationals to ensure they are paying a fairer share of tax.

This legislation delivers on the Albanese Government’s 2023–24 Budget announcement to implement the minimum taxes under Pillar Two of the OECD/G20 Two‑Pillar Solution, a multilateral agreement supported by more than 140 nations.

Stopping a global race to the bottom in company tax helps all Australians. When multinationals pay less, individuals and domestic businesses pay more.

The legislation we’re introducing to the House today, reflects several rounds of consultations and continued engagement with stakeholders to ensure these minimum taxes operate as intended and minimise unnecessary compliance burdens.

Our economic plan is all about helping fight inflation and easing the cost of living at the same time as we get the Budget in much better nick.

An international tax system where big multinationals pay a fairer share is better for small businesses, better for taxpayers and better for the economy.