The Senate has passed a motion ordering the Tax Office to reveal how much revenue the mining tax has raised since it was introduced last year.
There has been growing pressure on the Government to detail what money has been collected, despite Labor's insistence that it is not legally allowed to because of privacy provisions in the tax laws.
According to media reports, the Minerals Resource Rent Tax has not raised any revenue during its first six months of operation.
Today's motion, put forward by Greens leader Christine Milne, was supported by the Coalition.
It said the revenue details were "in the public interest" in order to provide confidence in how the tax was working.
The motion continues: "The Senate orders the Commissioner of Taxation to provide to the Economics References Committee, by no later than 15 February 2013, details of the revenue collected from the Minerals Resource Rent Tax by the Australian Taxation Office since 1 July 2012, noting that the disclosure pertains to companies and does not breach the confidentiality of natural persons."
In a statement, a spokesman for Treasurer Wayne Swan told the ABC the Government had "always supported" increased transparency in the tax system.
"The Assistant Treasurer is leading the Government's work to improve the transparency of Australia's business tax system so that this kind of information can rightly be released," the statement said.
"Through this, the Government wants to broaden transparency in the business tax system, including in relation to MRRT revenue, and remove any ambiguity from reporting requirements.
"Protecting taxpayer confidentiality for individuals is essential, but I believe there is a case to examine whether large and multinational businesses should have the same level of confidentiality about the taxes they have paid."
The ABC has contacted the Tax Office for comment.
This news story is reprinted from www.smartcompany.com.au
Read more details on Taxation Accountants.
There has been growing pressure on the Government to detail what money has been collected, despite Labor's insistence that it is not legally allowed to because of privacy provisions in the tax laws.
According to media reports, the Minerals Resource Rent Tax has not raised any revenue during its first six months of operation.
Today's motion, put forward by Greens leader Christine Milne, was supported by the Coalition.
It said the revenue details were "in the public interest" in order to provide confidence in how the tax was working.
The motion continues: "The Senate orders the Commissioner of Taxation to provide to the Economics References Committee, by no later than 15 February 2013, details of the revenue collected from the Minerals Resource Rent Tax by the Australian Taxation Office since 1 July 2012, noting that the disclosure pertains to companies and does not breach the confidentiality of natural persons."
In a statement, a spokesman for Treasurer Wayne Swan told the ABC the Government had "always supported" increased transparency in the tax system.
"The Assistant Treasurer is leading the Government's work to improve the transparency of Australia's business tax system so that this kind of information can rightly be released," the statement said.
"Through this, the Government wants to broaden transparency in the business tax system, including in relation to MRRT revenue, and remove any ambiguity from reporting requirements.
"Protecting taxpayer confidentiality for individuals is essential, but I believe there is a case to examine whether large and multinational businesses should have the same level of confidentiality about the taxes they have paid."
The ABC has contacted the Tax Office for comment.
This news story is reprinted from www.smartcompany.com.au
Read more details on Taxation Accountants.
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