Outspoken senators urge Australia to cut ties with Big Four firms as PwC scandal unfolds

Some Australian lawmakers and public figures are calling on Canberra to cut ties with the Big Four consulting companies – Deloitte, KPMG, PwC and Ernst & Young.

It comes as more evidence concerning the PwC scandal surfaces, amid alarming revelations Google was one of its clients to receive confidential national tax laws.

Former Australian senator Rex Patrick has asked the government to ban “morally bankrupt” firms from taking taxpayers’ money.

Tech giant Google was named Wednesday as one of the clients who received high-profile confidential details on the start date of new tax evasion laws from PwC, according to Reuters.

The scandal potentially saw its beginning in 2013, when the then international tax chief at PwC Australia, Peter Collins, started helping Canberra design better tax laws.

Those regulations commenced in 2016. Despite signing confidentiality agreements, Collins shared the government’s plans with PwC staff, both in the country and abroad.

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PwC Scrambling To Contain Scandal As It Continues To Develop

The scandal took a disastrous turn this week with the Google revelations. But Patrick said any suggestions that the tech giant would engage in tax evasion would be unsurprising.

The former senator stresses the “tentacles of private interest” must be removed from the public sector, while efforts must be made to ban the Big Four from accessing public funds.

History suggests Google has often paid very little tax in Australia. The company’s tax payments amounted to about A$85 million in 2021, despite earning over A$7 billion.

The search engine was compelled to pay nearly A$500 million in 2019 for 10 years’ of tax back pay as the Australian government tried to crack down on tax evasion by large firms.

It was through these efforts that the scandal-hit PwC was engaged by Canberra to consult confidentially on new tax evasion regulations – the ones that would soon surface illegally.

The consulting firm is currently scrambling to contain the scandal as it continues to develop. It sacked eight partners this week, including former chief executive Tom Seymour.