The Australian Taxation Office and Bupa Health Insurance reaches $157m settlement after decade-long dispute

Category: Disputes and Settlements, Transfer Pricing News | Tag: , , ,
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Bupa reaches $157m settlement with the Australian tax office after decade-long dispute

The settlement was the result of a decade-long dispute with the ATO over a “number of different mattersâ€, included transfer pricing issues with acquisitions in Australia in 2007 and 2008.

Bupa’s tax affairs came under scrutiny last year in a report by the Tax Justice Network. The report alleged that Bupa frequently used related party loans and debts from a corporate restructure, among other things, to reduce its profits in Australia.

According to the report, Bupa posted a total income of $7.5bn in Australia in 2015-16, but paid just $105m in tax on a taxable income of $352m. Its aged care business in Australia made more than $663m, about 70% of which was from government funding.
At the time of the report’s release, Bupa denied it had breached any tax laws.






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