Over one million entities lodge company income tax returns in Australia. At the time of publication, the 2,713 entities in the corporate transparency report represent approximately 66% of total corporate income tax payable in 2021–22.
The increase in tax payable was primarily driven by the Mining, Energy and Water segment in particular, strong iron ore prices and increases in tax payable from coal, oil and gas producers. Wholesale, Retail and Services also showed strong growth in tax payable. Segments relating to Banking, Finance and Investment, and Manufacturing, Construction and Agriculture were relatively stable during the period.
Tax payable – by ownership segment
Australian public entities contributed the most tax paid at 60.2%. This is followed by foreign-owned entities at 28.3% and Australian private entities at 11.5%.
Foreign owned entities contributed the most to the growth in tax payable in 2021–22 with $8.0 billion. Australian public entities contributed $5.1 billion in growth, while Australian private entities had growth of $2.2 billion. This data is presented in Figure 7.
Figure 7: Change in tax payable by ownership segment
Tax payable – by industry segment
The increase in tax payable across the corporate transparency population this year was primarily driven by the Mining, Energy and Water segment, with a growth of $10.2 billion (see Figure 8). This was driven by strong commodity prices and high export volumes.
The Wholesale, Retail and Services segment showed strong growth of $2.2 billion, representing a return to more normal retail conditions. The Manufacturing, Construction and Agriculture segment increased its tax payable by $1.7 billion. Banking, Finance and Investment also showed growth, contributing $897 million. The Insurance segment had a small increase of $216 million in 2021–22.
Figure 8: Change in tax payable, by industry segment
Economic and environmental factors can affect the performance of an industry segment each year. For example, the Insurance segment was affected by several natural disasters in 2021–22, negatively affecting its performance.
Read more about the reasons why some corporations pay no tax.