The Albanese Labor Government has passed legislation that will hold large multinationals to account on their tax affairs, protect Australians who use Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services and double the Government's philanthropic giving each year.
This important legislation will strengthen global corporate tax transparency alongside the Government's new global minimum tax and domestic minimum tax for multinationals, which also passed Parliament this week.
Multinationals subject to new public country by country reporting regime will need to publish certain tax information for Australia, specified countries and the remainder of their global operations - including the amount of tax paid.
Australia's public reporting regime builds on advances made in the EU and will set the standard for corporate tax transparency, as part of a welcome global trend towards greater tax disclosures.
The Government's world‑leading Buy Now Pay Later reforms will protect Australians from debt spirals and reduce the risk associated with these products.
BNPL is a low‑cost Australian innovation with around 7 million active accounts across Australia, but in some cases these products have the potential to cause financial harm.
In 2022, ASIC found that 19 per cent of BNPL customers showed 2 or more indicators of financial stress, such as cutting back on essential items or missing payments on other bills.
These new laws strike the right balance between giving Australians access to innovative products and ensuring they are protected from these products' potential harm.
The underlying obligation for BNPL services to not provide credit unless it's affordable has not changed.
BNPL providers will be required to hold an Australian Credit Licence and comply with the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009, including being members of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, who provide an independent dispute resolution mechanism for financial complaints.
The passage of this legislation is another important way the Albanese Government is helping people keep more of what they earn, protecting Australians from consumer harms.
This legislation also supports the Government's commitment to double philanthropic giving by amending the income tax law to specifically list 10 organisations as deductible gift recipients (DGR) for a 5‑year period.
Organisations with DGR status can receive gifts and donations that are deductible from a donor's income tax. This will encourage philanthropy and support the not‑for‑profit sector to undertake fundraising for a range of charitable purposes.
This is one of the 11 Treasury bills that passed the Senate this week that show we can maintain a primary focus on inflation and the cost of living while we keep the reform wheels turning.
