The world's largest miner BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) has been accused of evading billions of dollars in taxes in Australia for over a decade.
Former deputy prime minister from 2010 to 2013 Wayne Swan told Parliament he believed the mining titan had been playing the system and smuggling profits out of mineral - rich Australia for years, including during the long running Australian tax debate, which ran for four years to 2014.
Official data has revealed, Swan said, that between 2005 and 2014, BHP sold Australian minerals to its Singapore marketing hub to avoid paying taxes on profits of $5.7bn.
While the miner did pay $1bn in top-up taxes, these were only applied to 58% of the profit generated through the Singapore marketing hub.
The other 42% of the profit was untaxed in Australia or in the UK, where BHP is co-owned, it was claimed.
A BHP Billiton spokesman reportedly responded to the media in Australia, saying that for 2016 its Australian adjusted effective tax rate, inclusive of corporate tax, petroleum resource rent tax, and royalties, was around 57%.
"This demonstrates that we pay our ‘fair share’ of tax both in Australia and globally," it said.
BHP Billiton shares fell 4.28% to stand at 1,185p in early deals.