Earth AI, Legacy Minerals make first greenfield palladium discovery using artificial intelligence
The companies announced the verified discovery of one of the largest palladium mineral systems in Australia.
World’s No. 1 miner BHP Billiton (ASX:BHP) may be forced to reveal financial details about its Singapore operations after refusing Friday to answer the questions brought forward by a senate inquiry.
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) believes BHP and rival Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) have been channelling billions in profit through international tax havens like Singapore to avoid paying more than $750 million in tax to the Australian government, AFR reported.
Facing the committee in Melbourne on the last of a three-day national hearing, BHP and Rio acknowledged they were in ongoing discussions with auditors from the ATO.
However, the miners denied they had arranged their businesses to shift profits through marketing hubs in low-tax Singapore, adding their Singapore operations provide a central location from which to arrange the sale and transport of commodities to key Asian customers.
Earlier resources giant Glencore (LON:GLEN) disclosed it was shutting its centre in Singapore.
Image via WikiMedia Commons
4 Comments
EP (Expat-Long Way from Home)
Good to see the ATO are actually looking at the big transnationals for once… To date the ATO have been hammering only Aussie expatriate workers because we don’t have the financial and legal capability to fight back.. And for very little gain because we are not doing anything wrong or illegal. The Trans-nationals have been moving profits around for more than 25 years.. Just hit them with a 15% tax at the point of departure for the commodities and keep it simple…
Themadscientist
Absolutely EP the big transnationals need accountability and transparency, but so does the ATO. Have a look at the case of the famous Aussie actor Paul Hogan, who endured a 7-year witch hunt by the ATO with not a single charge laid, costing taxpayers $500 million. Let’s see if the miners case sets a precedent, then see if the ATO has the balls to tax Google or Apple!
Peter T
Singapore sees the West in particular as soft targets — Singapore is very, very happy to be able to pinch jobs and taxes from other countries… Its often said that BHP has a special deal with the Singapore government that means it pays extremely low tax and has to transfer jobs from Melbourne, Perth and the Hague to Singapore… one wonders why politicians in Australia allow this to continue… seems to warrant further scrutiny.
Jacob
It’s time ATO wake up.