Big companies can't reveal their tax - Senate duped by the institute with no members

More Lieberal non-respect for the intelligence of the electorate.

The senate has been duped. A recent inquiry by the senate investigated the case for large companies to not reveal their tax (or should I say lack of tax) to us plebs. The senate drew heavily on a body calling itself The Family Office Institute Australia. The senate decided that yes indeed, big companies didn't have to publicly reveal their lack of tax.

Turns out The Family Office Institute Australia has no members. It was set up a week after the reveal-your-tax-everyone bill went to parliament and two weeks before it went to a senate committee. It was set up by two tax lawyers and a lobbyist in Canberra, to agree with the Lieberals; namely that big companies shouldn't reveal their tax. The senate, not knowing that The Family Office Institute Australia had no members, took the advice given by said institute seriously and passed the Lieberal legislation permitting big companies to not reveal their lack of tax.

Reasons given were unimaginably preposterous during Canberra discussions. One being that some poor dear might get kidnapped if people knew how much they were worth. Like I said, more non-respect for the intelligence of Australians. Good luck kidnapping Gina, she must weigh a ton!

Apparently now we're just supposed to accept this undemocratic slight of hand, and continue to let big business hide their tax paid? My opinion is that there should be a new senate review of the entire legislation, given how much of their decision this time is based on a fallacy.

In 2013, the ATO said disclosure by companies with revenue of more than $100 million would "discourage large corporate tax entities from engaging in aggressive tax avoidance practices". 

The first sign the Coalition would dispense with the disclosure requirement came when then-assistant treasurer Josh Frydenberg told the joint partyroom of a "real concern" that wealthy business owners would be targeted for kidnap if the public became aware how wealthy they were. 

University of NSW accounting lecturer Jeffrey Knapp said the alleged kidnap danger was the "stupidest excuse for non-disclosure I've ever heard". 

The Coalition's "Better Targeting the Income Tax Transparency Laws" bill's only effect would be to pardon up to 1000 of Australia's biggest privately owned companies, including those owned by James Packer, Gina Rinehart, Lindsay Fox and 7-Eleven owner Russ Withers. 

In June, Fairfax Media revealed the government had sought no security advice to verify a kidnap risk existed before pushing forward with exempting private companies. The Australian Federal Police, the Attorney-General's Department and the ATO held no records of advice being sought, a freedom of information request revealed. 

The transparency bill was introduced on August 20 and a Senate committee was asked to scrutinise the legislation. 

The inquiry was unusual for the lack of submissions – just nine (seven in favour, two against) – for a bill that had supposedly caused such widespread angst in the business community. Senator Cory Bernard's "halal inquiry" received more than 1300 submissions, the "nanny state" inquiry 418 and the corporate tax avoidance inquiry 120. sydneymorningherald