By Georgia Wilkins and Heath Aston From The Sydney Morning Herald

Australia’s top companies have been unswayed by a global crackdown on corporate tax avoidance, with almost 60 per cent of the top 200 listed companies holding subsidiaries in tax havens or low-tax jurisdictions.

Data also shows some companies that promised to get out of tax havens have actually added to their offshore subsidiaries.

Several big-name companies, such as 21st Century Fox, Westfield, Toll Holdings and Telstra, have more than 40 entities in well-known tax havens such as the Cayman Islands, Luxembourg, the British Virgin Islands and Bermuda, a report by the Tax Justice Network shows.

Fourteen in the 20 top companies, including two of the country’s big banks, also hold entities in these locations, according to the report.

The report also reveals nearly a third of the ASX 200 are now paying less than 10 per cent tax on profit compared to the statutory corporate tax rate of 30 per cent.

“Secrecy jurisdictions play a key role in multinational tax dodging and undermine the ability of democratically elected governments to levy taxes in a just and fair way,” the reports authors say. “Corporate tax avoidance must be addressed.”

While hubs in low-tax jurisdictions such as Singapore and Hong Kong are commonly used for legitimate business, the report highlights how Australian companies are relying on hubs in far more exotic locations.

Bermuda and Jersey, with tax rates of 0 per cent, are home to 119 entities belonging to top 200 Australian companies. The British Virgin Islands is home to 77.

Commonwealth Bank appears to have extended its network of haven companies.

A subsidiary in the Caribbean tax haven, the Cayman Islands, is understood to be owned by the bank. This is despite the company saying it was looking to close it down last year.

The report, which uses data from company accounts, shows the bank also has two other entities in Luxembourg and Bermuda.

A spokeswoman for the bank would not comment except to say it took its disclosure obligations “very seriously”.

Telstra also appears to have added to its tax haven stockpile, with eight more subsidiaries in secrecy jurisdictions compared to last year. A spokesman said: “All of our operating companies pay tax in their local jurisdictions.”

The report comes as G20 leaders, headed by Treasurer Joe Hockey, ramp up their offensive on companies that shift profits offshore, vowing to commit to an information sharing regime that the OECD says spells the end of tax secrecy.

Mark Zirnsak, a local representative of the Tax Justice Network, said: “We don’t think the companies have got the message.”

“Some of them have increased the number of subsidiaries they have, and some of them said they were looking to close subsidiaries and haven’t.”

As of July next year, the tax affairs of Australia’s biggest companies will be blown open, with new transparency laws passed under the previous Labor government requiring the amount companies pay in tax to be publicly available.

Currently, the amount companies pay in tax is confidential and only shared with the Tax Office.

A spokeswoman for Westfield, which has 30 subsidiaries in Jersey, said it “took advantage of specific tax rules available in many countries” due to its status as a real estate investment trust.

“As part of the way that various UK assets are held in the UK, Westfield adopts structures that involve owning the asset via entities in Jersey.”

“Such structures are typical for non-resident landlords in the UK market and the UK tax authorities are well aware of them.”

Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox, formerly part of News Corp and no longer listed on the ASX, said it had not used the subsidiaries “for tax deferrals”.

Antony Ting, a corporate law specialist at the University of Sydney, said that while the report was unable to confirm that profits were being shifted overseas, it highlighted the need for greater transparency.

“It shows us that it’s a common practice for companies to set up subsidiaries in these countries.”

For more on this story go to: http://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/global-crackdown-on-tax-havens-fails-to-sway-australian-companies-20140928-10l7zp.html#ixzz3Ev9QgQ7v