News Corp's $882m tax rebate blew the federal budget

tonester on 17/02/2014 - 16:17

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/feb/17/rupert-murdoch-…

Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation has blown an $880 million hole in the federal budget after winning a long-running battle with the Australian Tax Office over deductions.

The ATO had refused to allow the deduction, which relates to a 1989 restructure within Mr Murdoch's media empire in which no money changed hands.

News Corporation defeated the ATO in the Federal Court in July and the money began flowing to the company over the Christmas break.

The payout represents a significant proportion of the $16.8 billion deterioration in the federal budget announced by Treasurer Joe Hockey in December.

It all but wipes out $1.1 billion in savings announced by Mr Hockey when he unveiled the mid-year economic and fiscal outlook on December 17.

What's been your biggest tax refund/deduction? :)

Financial

Comments

  • MondaySleeper on 17/02/2014 - 16:43

    I am more worried about what impact this will have on our economy. :(
    Will Govt introduce new job cuts? Grrrr…………

    Sab

  • retiredfeline on 17/02/2014 - 17:13
    +3

    All the more reason to not read Murdoch's trash rags.

  • donga100 on 17/02/2014 - 21:21
    +5

    That's about how much the government owed Newscorp for the last election anyway so no big deal.

  • TheAviator on 17/02/2014 - 23:07
    +4

    What makes it even worse is that even the ABC only gets about $1 billion of funding. Murdoch got almost $900m and he's running a private company!

  • scotty on 18/02/2014 - 15:21

    I think people here have missed @tonester's question:

    What's been your biggest tax refund/deduction?

    However I can't really answer that myself. Being a software developer I really can't find much to deduct other than the very laptop that I use to produce all my work, and even that I have to depreciate it for 3 years.

    Actually, it has been more than a dozen years since I last had a tax "return". Damn. Anyone knows how I can also "restructure" to get $880m deduction?

  • retiredfeline on 18/02/2014 - 17:54

    So it's hard for me to feel any sympathy for haemorrhaging print newspapers. These days if you want cute cats and other sensational distractions you can get that for free a few clicks away.

    http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/s3946698.htm

    As for tax deductions, that question is neither here nor there. Corporations are far removed from individuals and anyway the rich always manage to find laws that suit them. :-|

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