Stories
Explore public-interest stories based on published Australian tax transparency data. These stories help explain company tax records, industry patterns, and questions that may need closer review.
Tax Transparency Code is a research tool. It does not provide tax, legal, investment, or financial advice. A low or nil tax payable amount does not, by itself, prove tax avoidance.
Featured
A selection of current case studies and industry reviews. Several are still in draft or awaiting data import.
Over 11 years, Apple Pty Ltd reported more than $104.5 billion in Australian total income. Only $4.74 billion became taxable income. That leaves one fair question: where does the profit go?
Adecco's own website says it "works for everyone". The ATO data raises a harder question. For nine years, Adecco Holdings Pty Ltd reported an average annual income of $567,553,462 (totalling $5,107,981,156 over nine years), no taxable income, and no company tax payable.
Then the numbers changed — taxable income and company tax appeared. Because transparency data is released years after the event, the public only saw the shift later, raising the question: what changed, and did anyone review the earlier years?
The government keeps going back to the same old stone, trying to squeeze more blood from workers, small business owners, and mum-and-dad investors. Since the May Budget, capital gains tax and negative gearing have been pushed, pulled, and reshaped under pressure.
But despite the backlash, one thing has not changed. The ATO's own data still raises a harder question: why are ordinary Australians being squeezed again before government chases the money already visible in corporate tax transparency data?
Eight companies — four miners and four banks — pay a large share of all corporate tax payable, while roughly 2,100 other companies pay the rest. This explainer pulls live yearly totals from the published data so you can see the split for yourself.
A review of companies that reported income but no tax payable in the latest published ATO corporate tax transparency data.
An industry review of petroleum companies in the published ATO corporate tax transparency data.
Case studies
Company-specific reviews of published ATO corporate tax transparency records.
Adecco's own website says it "works for everyone". The ATO data raises a harder question. For nine years, Adecco Holdings Pty Ltd reported an average annual income of $567,553,462 (totalling $5,107,981,156 over nine years), no taxable income, and no company tax payable.
Then the numbers changed — taxable income and company tax appeared. Because transparency data is released years after the event, the public only saw the shift later, raising the question: what changed, and did anyone review the earlier years?
A company-level review of Lactalis records in the published ATO corporate tax transparency data.
Over 11 years, Apple Pty Ltd reported more than $104.5 billion in Australian total income. Only $4.74 billion became taxable income. That leaves one fair question: where does the profit go?
Industry reviews
Industry-wide reviews across petroleum, mining, technology, and companies that reported no tax payable.
A review of companies that reported income but no tax payable in the latest published ATO corporate tax transparency data.
An industry review of petroleum companies in the published ATO corporate tax transparency data.
This story will review published Petroleum Resource Rent Tax records once the PRRT data has been imported and checked.
An industry review of mining companies in the published ATO corporate tax transparency data.
An industry review of large technology companies in the published ATO corporate tax transparency data.
Data explainers
Articles that explain how to read the data, what tax payable means, and why total income is not the same as taxable income.
The government keeps going back to the same old stone, trying to squeeze more blood from workers, small business owners, and mum-and-dad investors. Since the May Budget, capital gains tax and negative gearing have been pushed, pulled, and reshaped under pressure.
But despite the backlash, one thing has not changed. The ATO's own data still raises a harder question: why are ordinary Australians being squeezed again before government chases the money already visible in corporate tax transparency data?
Eight companies — four miners and four banks — pay a large share of all corporate tax payable, while roughly 2,100 other companies pay the rest. This explainer pulls live yearly totals from the published data so you can see the split for yourself.