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Defending harmful tax practices: mining companies’ responses to the Australian Senate Inquiry into tax avoidance

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journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-20, 02:42 authored by Mikler, J, Elbra, A, Hannah Murphy-GregoryHannah Murphy-Gregory
This article examines the Australian Senate’s 2015–2017 inquiry into corporate tax avoidance to illuminate the tax strategies used by the multinational corporations (MNCs) most targeted by tax justice campaigners, versus those of particular relevance in an Australian context: mining companies. Using documentary analysis, we examine how these companies discursively defended their tax avoidance strategies. Despite differences in the context in which the issue of tax minimisation has risen to prominence, we show that in Australia, MNCs’ legitimacy in paying lower levels of tax has been challenged in a similar manner to that of MNCs in other industry sectors that were held responsible for post-global financial crisis austerity measures in states like the US and UK. This suggests that history and context matter not in and of themselves, but for the impact they have on the discursive power of the actors involved, depending on the visibility and salience of the issue associated with them.

Funding

Australian Research Council

History

Publication title

Australian Journal of Political Science

Volume

54

Pagination

238-254

ISSN

1036-1146

Department/School

School of Social Sciences

Publisher

Routledge

Place of publication

Level 2, 11 Queens Rd, Melbourne, VIC 3004 Australia

Rights statement

Copyright 2019 Australian Political Studies Association

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Socio-economic Objectives

Civics and citizenship; Political systems; International political economy (excl. international trade)

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