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‘Morally bankrupt’: Australia urged to cut ties with Big Four firms amid PwC scandal
- Some lawmakers are urging Canberra to ban the so-called big four – Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PwC – from taking taxpayers’ money
- The news comes amid fallout from scandal relating to leaked tax evasion laws, with one senator saying ‘white-collar crimes are not victimless’
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Su-Lin Tanin Singapore
Some Australian public figures and lawmakers are calling for Canberra to cut ties with the Big Four consulting companies as more evidence of the “immense” PwC scandal surfaces amid revelations the firm tipped off tech giant Google on confidential national tax laws.
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Former Australian senator Rex Patrick – who has called out tax dodgers as well as Australia’s Aukus nuclear submarine purchase – has asked the government to ban “morally bankrupt” consultancy firms from taking taxpayers’ money.
The big four are Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PwC. On Wednesday, Google was named as one of the clients who received confidential information about the start date of new tax evasion laws from beleaguered PwC, according to Reuters.
The scandal’s roots can be traced back to 2013, when Peter Collins, then the international tax chief at PwC Australia, started helping the government design tougher multinational tax laws. Those laws commenced in January 2016.
Despite signing confidentiality agreements, Collins passed information about Canberra’s plans to PwC staff, both in Australia and overseas.
The fallout from the saga gathered pace this week with the Google revelations.
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