Australia’s largest corporations tend to operate in sectors of the economy that are characterised by a high degree of capital intensity and economies of scale. Different economic performance factors affect particular sectors of the economy at different points in the economic cycle. In particular, these cyclical factors have influenced the tax performance of the mining, energy and water segment in recent years.
Tax payable was again dominated by the banking, finance and investment segment in 2016–17. The mining, energy and water segment had the second largest share of tax payable, followed closely by the wholesale, retail and services segment. The share of tax payable attributable to the mining, energy and water segment was higher than in previous years due to the recovery in commodity prices. The manufacturing, construction and agriculture segment had a low share of tax payable relative to the number of companies operating in this industry.
Figure 17: Corporate entities, by industry segment, 2016–17