Aggressive tax avoiders would be named and shamed under a proposed policy. Photo / File
Concern over the amount of tax paid by multinational companies has the government mulling a tax transparency register which would name and shame aggressive tax avoiders, a tax expert at EY says.
Such a policy is currently in force in Australia and was part of a package, including
a clampdown on diverted profits popularly known as a "Google tax", following an outcry across the Tasman over tax avoidance by large companies.
Tori Sullivan, a director of professional services firm EY, told the Herald she was unsure of how far along the proposal was from being implemented but claimed Revenue Minister Michael Woodhouse had suggested the measure was under consideration in a speech earlier this month.
Sullivan said while much of the information that would go on such a register - in Australia it included revenue, net profits and tax paid - was already public she was in two minds over the proposal as it risked eroding the longstanding principle of tax secrecy.
"In Australia's there's a similar thing that has the ATO naming and shaming taxpayers," she said.
