Already a subscriber?The parent company of telco giant Optus has lost its bid to get almost $895 million deducted from its taxable income in Australia, in a Federal Court victory forSingapore Telecommunications had attempted to claim the deductions based on interest paid on loans between two of the company’s subsidiaries, regarding its 2001 acquisition of Optus.
“Whilst many large businesses are meeting their tax obligations, there are some that continue to engage in profit-shifting practices. When purchasing Optus in 2001, the Australian-based Singapore Telecom Australia Investments issued shares and loan notes to its subsidiary SingTel Australia Investments, which is incorporated in the British Virgin Islands.
Singtel then claimed tax deductions for interest of almost $895 million paid on loans between the two subsidiaries from 2010 to 2013.Ms Saint said the decision was more evidence of the success of the cross-government tax avoidance taskforce in reducing the proliferation of profit shifting, including transfer mispricing.