The Minister for Revenue and Financial Services, the Hon Kelly O’Dwyer MP said implementation of the Turnbull Government’s commitment to ensure greater transparency by large multinational companies in Australia moves forward with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) starting consultation with affected businesses.
“There are up to 2,000 multinational companies operating in Australia with annual global income of more than $1 billion,” Minister O’Dwyer said.
“Under the Government’s multinational anti-avoidance law, these companies will be required to give general purpose financial statements to the ATO, if they are not already lodging these statements with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
“This new requirement, which applies to income years starting from 1 July 2016, will contribute significantly to the overall level of public transparency of multinational companies not only in relation to taxation but also their broader financial performance,” Minister O’Dwyer said.
Issues to be consulted on include:
- the interpretation of key concepts – what is a general purpose financial statement and the applicable accounting standards for their preparation;
- how an affected entity can give their general purpose financial statements to the ATO; and
- practical guidance to assist affected entities to comply.
“The consultation process will ensure the ATO can better understand and address any difficulties or complexities that may arise in meeting these obligations,” Minister O’Dwyer said.
The consultation paper is available from today to 30 September 2016.