P4APurple Partyfor Australia

Public choices / October 2026

Multinational tax

People want public services funded fairly and businesses competing on fair terms. That needs a tax trail that can distinguish a lawful loss from profit shifted out of reach.

Open the roomTwinkle seedsTwinkle 33 · video

Twinkle / policy room

Connected Twinkles

Twinkle 33: Multinational tax: big revenue, offshore profits.

Twinkle 33 / Brainstorming scenario

Multinational tax: readable receipts and capable enforcement

Make major corporate tax claims traceable and fund the expertise needed to examine them. Separate lawful deductions, genuine losses and disputed arrangements rather than accusing every zero-tax company.

Revenue, taxable profit and tax paid are different figures. Source-linked legal and ownership records could turn a multinational tax headline into a question people can actually examine.

Explore the connected work

How it could work

  1. Publish a standard public receipt linking entity, reporting year, revenue, taxable income and tax records with definitions.
  2. Prioritise specialist audit capacity and related-party risk, with explanations of completed enforcement outcomes.
  3. Review proposed rule changes against investment, revenue, administrative cost and international coordination before adopting them.

Everyday example

A voter can distinguish a company's sales from its taxable profit and see which arrangement a reform would actually change.

Who could act and how it could be funded

Company income-tax rules and enforcement are Commonwealth matters. Victoria can improve state procurement transparency and refer relevant concerns; it cannot rewrite federal tax rates. Budget specialist staff and review separately from uncertain recovered revenue.

Fair-go safeguards

No accusation without attributable evidence. Respect confidential case information and review rights. Do not spend expected recoveries as if they were guaranteed income.

What would show progress

Receipts understandable; high-risk cases resolved; review outcomes; net enforcement cost; verified revenue effects.

Twinkle 33 · videoOpen the full roomRabbit-hole policies
Full room: ideas, tools and sources

Delivery roles: Australia's three levels of government · Victoria's parliamentary responsibilities.

A ratio is a question, not a verdict

The ATO warns that its corporate transparency figures alone do not establish an entity’s effective tax rate. Company income tax applies to taxable profit, not gross revenue. Losses, offsets, group structures and timing can explain nil tax; a zero-tax entry or tax-to-revenue ratio does not establish avoidance. Ask for the relevant entity, group, period and tax base before making an accusation.

ATO: how to interpret entity tax information

Build on rules that already exist

Australia already has global and domestic minimum-tax rules. Reform choices should identify what those rules cover and where enforcement, disclosure or coordination still needs work, rather than present a minimum tax as an entirely new idea.

Current multinational minimum-tax rules

Different ways to close the gap

Fund skilled enforcementAudits and litigation can test risky arrangements using existing powers. They need specialist staff, time, due process and evidence; not every investigation produces extra revenue.
Test related-party finance and royaltiesScrutinise whether cross-border charges reflect real activities and lawful pricing. Clear rules can reduce shifting while avoiding double taxation and unpredictable treatment of ordinary trade.
Country-by-country and ownership transparencyMore comparable accounts and visible beneficial ownership make patterns easier to examine. Scope, privacy, data quality and consistent reporting boundaries determine whether publication is useful.
Coordinate internationallyShared rules and information can reduce gaps between countries. Negotiation is slower and design needs to preserve legitimate investment and treaty commitments.

A public receipt worth arguing over

For a checkable tax record, identify the entity and year, link source accounts, separate revenue from profit and tax payable, record amendments and leave a correction path. For resource businesses, keep corporate tax, PRRT, royalties, subsidies and cleanup liabilities in separate columns.

Civic LedgerResources and public return

Put a precise question to Parliament

Use the ATO source to choose a reporting year and a defined policy question. Ask representatives about enforcement capacity, published outcomes and which disclosure gaps a reform would close. If you have evidence of wrongdoing, use the ATO’s official reporting channel rather than publishing private records or labelling a company from one number.

ATO tip-off route
Twinkle 33: Multinational tax

A public workbench

Source check: 3 October 2026. The choices here are proposals for discussion, not an adopted party platform. Follow the linked source for its jurisdiction, date and latest status.

A tiny tax number beside a giant revenue number.

That contrast deserves questions, but revenue is not taxable profit. Follow the entity, losses, related-party charges and rules before deciding whether the system or the conduct needs changing.

A question for the workbench

“A big number deserves a proper receipt, not a guess dressed as a verdict.”