Google, Microsoft, Apple and Facebook Settle Tax Affairs in Australia
E-commerce giant Google has settled their tax dispute with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) with a payment of an extra $481.5 million on top of their previous tax payments.
They join the likes of Microsoft, Apple and Facebook who have all publicly stated that they have settled their tax affairs with the ATO.
This result brings the increased collections made against taxpayers in the ecommerce industry to around $1.25 billion cash.
Google's settlement comes after an audit that looked into the tech giant’s tax practices between 2008 and 2018.
With the introduction of the Multinational Anti-Avoidance Law (MAAL), Australian sourced sales by these digital giants will now be returned to Australia’s tax base.
“This settlement is another great outcome for the Australian Tax System,” Deputy Commissioner Mark Konza said.
“It adds to the significant success of the ATO in positively changing the behaviour of digital taxpayers and significantly increasing the tax they pay in Australia.
Facebook, Google, Amazon and other large technology companies have faced criticism globally for reducing their tax bills by booking profits in low-tax countries regardless of the location of the end customer. Such practices are frowned upon by many countries as unfair.