Third of Australian firms pay under 10% tax

Sydney -The use of global tax havens has allowed a third of top corporations in Australia to pay less than 10% tax, according to a study released on Monday.

The Tax Justice Network, an international group supported by unions, charities and churches, said in its 90-page report Who Pays For Our Common Wealth? That up to $8bn a year in corporate tax is foregone because of the use of tax havens.

It found construction material supplier James Hardie and shopping mall giant Westfield paid zero tax in Australia.

Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox had an effective tax rate of 1%, the privatised Sydney Airport 2% and Echo Entertainment -owner of the Sydney Star Casino - paid 5%.

This is substantially less than the company tax rate of 30%.

The report said the firms were not breaking any tax laws, but were maximising their legal ability to use international tax havens and load up debt in Australian subsidiaries.

Rupert Murdoch responded to the report by Tweeting that there was no tax avoidance by his companies or the Murdoch family in Australia. "Courts ruled, so move on!" said the message on his Twitter account.

The tax report comes a week after G20 finance ministers met in Brisbane to discuss cracking down on the use of tax havens.