BHP under fire for artificial tax avoidance
McGeoch slams BHP over tax Glenda Korporaal – The Australian, 15 July 15 Sydney company director Rod McGeoch has hit out at BHP Billiton for using a Singapore company to structure its tax arrangements and called for major Australian companies to drop artificial tax avoidance structures.
In an interview with The Australian, Mr McGeoch, who is a director of Ramsay Health Care and led the Sydney bid for the 2000 Olympics, said directors on the boards of major companies should hold themselves to higher standards than just maximising profits for shareholders………
He said company directors who felt their main duty was just “wealth maximisation” for shareholders were “heading for trouble”.
Mining companies, including BHP Billiton, have recently come under focus for the use of so-called offshore marketing hubs.
“When you are taking minerals out of the ground and putting them on a ship and sending them to China, to suggest that there is a transaction going through Singapore, that is not artificial.
“I am sure they (BHP) do have an office in Singapore but the truth of the matter is that the ore is going from Australia to China. We can all create a series of transactions that Singapore buys the ore (from Australia) and Singapore sells it (to China), but, really, does any person in China really think this stuff comes from Singapore?” Mr McGeoch said……..
Mr McGeoch’s comments come in the wake of recent appearances by BHP and other mining executives before the Senate inquiry into corporate tax minimisation. During the inquiry, BHP confirmed it was in a dispute worth more than $500 million with the Australian Taxation Office relating to its Singapore marketing operations………http://www.businessspectator.com.au/news/2015/7/15/resources-and-energy/mcgeoch-slams-bhp-over-tax
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