Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Hansard source

Well, you may not, Senator Cormann, but not everything is the conspiracy theory that you think it is. This is called the administration of—

Honourable senators interjecting —

The PRESIDENT: Order, on both sides!

This is the administration of Australia ' s tax laws, and they are independent of government. Having said that, the government is acutely aware of the importance of transparency in relation to our tax system. As I referenced yesterday, as a consequence of the government ' s awareness, Mr Bradbury, the Assistant Treasurer, is leading work to improve the transparency of Australia ' s business tax system so that this type of information can be released appropriately. Through this, the government wishes to broaden the transparency of the tax system, including in relation to MRRT revenue. This approach that is being led by the Assistant Treasurer would remove any ambiguity from reporting requirements so that these issues can be addressed.

Obviously, continuing to protect taxpayer confidentiality for individuals is essential. But there is a case in the government ' s view to examine whether larger multinational businesses should have the same level of confidentiality about the taxes they have paid. We will approach this issue in a measured, considered and principled way, rather than taking an ad hoc approach to particular taxpayers or particular taxes.