Bill would require private companies with more than $100m in turnover to publicly release tax informationSix hundred of Australia’s biggest private companies could finally be forced to publish their high-level tax information, under a new push by Labor to repair a notorious piece of legislation. It allowed 600 of Australia’s biggest private companies to continue to be shielded from public disclosure, because they fell between Labor’s original $100m threshold and the Coalition’s new $200m threshold. At the time, the Coalition justified its legislative change by claiming some MPs had raised concerns that the publication of private companies’ financial details could expose wealthy business owners to security risks, including kidnapping. He also said that, if the Senate did not support the legislation, Labor would take its plan to the election. Guardian Australia revealed in late 2015 the names of 1,498 private companies associated with Australia’s business elite, including the prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, that were not required to publish financial reports under the historical secrecy provision.

Source: The Guardian August 13, 2017 18:00 UTC