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Wednesday, May 31, 2023

Australian parliament to probe PwC tax leaks scandal 

The corporation, which has the Australian government as its biggest client, has asked nine of its directors to take immediate leave.

• May 30, 2023
PricewaterhouseCoopers
PricewaterhouseCoopers

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) office in Australia is under investigation by the country’s parliament for leaking information about secret government tax intentions to its clients.

According to the Voice of America, the corporation, which has the Australian government as its biggest client, has directed nine directors to take immediate leave as the heads of its risk committee and governance board are resigning.

Steven Kennedy, the director of Australia’s federal Treasury, said in Canberra on Tuesday that PwC Australia’s actions were “clearly disturbing.” He said that he requested the Australian Federal Police look into a large leak after a group of emails from the consulting firm were made public.

Labour senator Deborah O’Neill told ABC on Tuesday that the consulting firm’s conduct has been unethical.

“This is about cover-up, this is about PwC trying to stem the flow of an artery that’s well and truly open now. The reality is, that this is a company that has not been open and honest with the Australian people, indeed 53 people within PwC Australia and PwC Global had access to confidential information that belonged rightly to the Australian people,” she said.

PwC Australia has, however, admitted to pursuing profits in an excessively aggressive manner. It stated that none of its clients was implicated in any wrongdoing, and no sensitive information was ever utilised to lower their tax obligations.

Katy Gallagher, Australia’s minister of finance, stated before a parliamentary committee on Tuesday that the use of consultants by the government was a “massive problem.”

There has recently been more attention on the sector. China started a crackdown on consultancy firms earlier this month after Beijing expanded its anti-espionage legislation to cover information sharing and perceived dangers to national security.

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