Global Daily Tax News, Australia Updating Voluntary Tax Transparency Code, (Jun 12, 2025)

The Australian Board of Taxation has launched a consultation on a review of the Voluntary Tax Transparency Code (VTTC).

The code was launched in 2016 and contains a set of principles and minimum standards for adoption by medium and large companies. By voluntarily signing up to the Code, companies can demonstrate they are transparent in relation to their international tax affairs, to support the public's understanding about how they comply with Australia's tax laws.

The minimum standard of information required under the TTC depends on the size of the business.

Announcing the consultation, the Board said: "The VTTC is an important element in Australia's approach to tax transparency. At the time of its introduction in 2016, the VTTC was the most comprehensive and advanced corporate tax transparency measure globally. However, the Australian and global tax transparency landscape has evolved significantly since 2016. Developments include the recent commencement of comprehensive mandatory public country-by-country reporting (public CbCr) of tax information in Australia for certain large multinational enterprises."

With a view to updating the Code, the Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, requested that the Board provide its views on how the Code can be supplemented.

The Board is proposing the following updates to the Code:

• Updated objectives and design;

• Separation of reporting requirements based on whether or not a business reports under the public CbCr regime, and simplification to minimize reporting duplication;

• A new requirement to provide a reconciliation of the Code to the ATO corporate tax transparency (CTT) report; and

• New guidance including an example template format for VTTC reporting, for both 'Public CbC reporters' and 'Non-public CbC reporters' based on fictitious businesses and a self-assessment reporting checklist.

The Board is seeking feedback on the consultation until July 11, 2025.