Over one million entities lodge company income tax returns in Australia. At the time of publication, the 2,370 entities in the transparency report represent approximately 65% of total corporate income tax payable in 2019–20. This population contributed $57.2 billion in tax payable compared to the prior year, this represents a net increase in tax payable of approximately $1.1 billion (2.0%).
The increase in tax payable was primarily driven by the mining, energy and water segment, in particular strong iron ore prices and export volumes. There were declines in tax payable in banking, finance and investment and the insurance segment. Wholesale and retail services marginally increased their tax payable and manufacturing was stable during the period. These numbers reflect challenging economic conditions and the differentiated impact of COVID-19, mainly in the last quarter of 2019–20.