The Tax Office shared information about the PwC tax leaks with federal police in 2018, Commissioner Chris Jordan told a parliamentary committee on Wednesday.
The Tax Office shared information with federal police in 2018 about former PwC partner Peter Collins leaking confidential Treasury documents, Commissioner Chris Jordan told a parliamentary committee on Wednesday.
AFP sources say that the agency received the Collins emails but because of tax secrecy laws cited by the ATO it was instructed not to distribute the material nor to investigate it. “In January 2016, we became aware of a handful of multinationals suspiciously and quickly attempting to restructure their affairs upon the introduction of the Multinational Anti-Avoidance Law ,” Mr Jordan told estimates.
Mr Jordan also provided a timeline that showed that the ATO obtained a cache of PwC internal emails in late 2017, which showed that PwC partner Peter Collins had shared confidential Treasury documents that he received with other PwC partners, who then used the information to target new clients.It’s not clear which part of the ATO first obtained the emails, but their existence appears not to have been widely known in the tax regulator.
Earlier on Wednesday, Treasury told the committee it first learnt of the PwC leaks in September 2018 when the Tax office sought information about a possible breach of confidentiality relating to the development of the Multinational Anti- Avoidance Law, which was introduced in January 2016.Treasury officials said that the Tax Office was prevented by secrecy provisions from disclosing what it knew about the PwC matter.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
PwC orders nine partners to go on leave amid tax scandal falloutUnder-fire accounting and consultancy firm PwC directs nine of its partners to take leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation into the leaking of confidential Australian government tax information.
Read more »
Australia news LIVE: Greens fear ‘sweetheart deal’ on gas tax change; PwC tax scandal fallout continues as nine staff members stood downTreasurer Jim Chalmers’ hopes of raising an extra $2.4 billion from the oil and gas industry are under further threat, with the Greens accusing the government of creating a sweetheart deal to protect the North West Shelf from paying more tax.
Read more »
PwC sends nine partners on leave, chairman exitsThe embattled firm will also “ringfence” its federal government advisory business as part of a suite of measures designed to signal it is taking decisive action.
Read more »
‘PwC did too little too late’: Kristin Stubbins’ apologyThe acting PwC chief executive apologises over the tax leaks scandal, outlines the three key ways the firm failed and the actions it is now taking. ausbiz'
Read more »
Lendlease hits pause on PwC audit dealThe property giant has hit pause on its tender process to pick an auditor, a role PwC was previously widely expected to win.
Read more »