Drug companies to testify at Australian Senate hearing on tax avoidance

Representatives of nine multinational pharmaceutical companies will defend their companies’ tax practices before the Australian Senate’s Economics References Committee on July 1 as a part of the committee’s ongoing inquiry into tax avoidance and aggressive tax minimization.

Representatives of the following firms will testify: AstraZeneca Pty Ltd; Pfizer Australia Pty Ltd; GlaxoSmithKline Australia Ltd; Johnson and Johnson; Sanofi; Merck, Sharp and Dohme; Roche Products Pty Ltd; Novartis Australia; and Eli Lilly Australia Pty Ltd.

All the companies have submitted statements in advance of the hearing insisting that they pay the correct amount of tax on profits earned in Australia.

Also slated to testify are Chris Jordan, ATO Commissioner of Taxation and Mark Konza, ATO Deputy Commissioner, Public Groups & International.

See:

• Parliament of Australia

Related MNE Tax articles:

• OECD tax official asks Australian legislators to hold off on unilateral tax measures

• Australia Senate committee to hold hearings on corporate tax avoidance