Australian government to question Uber, Airbnb over tax avoidance
The Australian government will pursue some of the world&rsquo;s biggest companies for tax avoidance through legislation expected to hit parliament within a month, Treasurer Joe Hockey said today. Hockey told ABC radio he plans to go after 30 offshore-based companies to ensure they are paying their fair share of tax in Australia. Further reports suggest the Senate committee will write to sharing economy companies, including Uber and Airbnb, asking them to explain their taxation activities and potentially invite company representatives to appear at inquiry hearings.
"It defies belief that a company like Uber is engaged in some of the most aggressive tax minimisation practices, that it is an international company with a distribution area in the US and not an Australian taxi business."

The taxi and limousine industry is estimated to be worth $5.5 billion, generating $1 billion in profits, according to market researcher IBISWorld.

Stagnant revenue growth and heavy regulation have dogged the industry over the past five years but the introduction of new technology, like smartphones, is expected to drive compound annual growth of more than 2 per cent of the next five years.

The IBISWorld report highlighted the fact Uber drivers were able to provide transport for a fee without the expense and red tape of obtaining a tax licence.

Last month, the Australian Taxation Office insisted Uber drivers must begin collecting GST from August 1, despite Uber launching a legal challenge in the Federal Court.

Other sharing-economy ­services – such as Airbnb, or letting car-parking or doing odd jobs for payment – will also be required to pay GST, but only if their annual income from the services exceeds the GST-free threshold of $75,000.

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Income tax difficult to collect

Senator Dastyari said the issue was not just GST, but income tax which has been difficult to collect because invoices to passengers are issued from a company outside Australia.

In July, the committee wrote to eight companies including Santos, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Caltex, BP, Woodside, Origin and Viva Energy, asking for information about the relationship between their Australian operations and operations in foreign jurisdictions, particularly Singapore.

Executives from technology giants including Apple and Microsoft, along with BHP and Rio Tinto and pharmaceutical empires Novartis and Pfizer, have already been grilled publicly in front of the parliamentary inquiry.

The inquiry is due to report on November 30.