BHP disappointed by misrepresentation of its tax payment levels

Monday, 24 May 2010 13:44:39 (GMT+2)

BHP Billiton on May 24 expressed disappointment at what it described as a misrepresentation of the level of taxes paid by it on its Australian operations.

Chief financial officer Alex Vanselow expressed concern that lower tax rate numbers were attributed to the tax paid by BHP Billiton in a study by two academics from a United States university. "A more accurate and meaningful method is to use the actual tax payments and returns submitted by companies in Australia," he said.

BHP Billiton pays three broad levels of taxation on earnings in Australia: company tax - paid on the taxable income of the business; royalties - paid on the value and/or volume of resources extracted; other production taxes - paid on the value of oil and gas resources extracted.

The company said that the rate of tax in the 2009 financial year ended on June 30, 2009 was 43 percent of AU$6.3 billion and the average of the same in relation to the six-year period 2004 to 2009 inclusive was 42 percent or AU$24 billion in total.

 previous article  /  next article