James Hardie 'paid an average of $0' in corporate tax over past decade
A report by the Australian Taxation Office in 1989 put James Hardie on a list of the 15 biggest users of tax havens and referred to the building products company as "masters of tax minimisation".
That was before the scandal around James Hardie's asbestos compensation and its move offshore erupted but, according to a new report, little has changed in the company's aggressive approach to capping its tax bill.
The report, prepared by the Tax Justice Network and United Voice, and revealed by Fairfax Media on Monday, found James Hardie operates 11 subsidiaries in low-tax jurisdictions – eight in Bermuda, two in the Philippines and one in Guernsey.
The company has relocated its home base from the Netherlands to Ireland over the past 13 years, chasing lower tax rates.
The report, Who Pays For Our Common Wealth?, and tax experts who spoke to Fairfax said the company effectively pays no tax in Australia.
