The Australian campaign against corporate tax avoidance: agenda-setting, narratives, and political opportunities

Murphy‐Gregory, Hannah; Elbra, Ainsley; Mikler, John; Johnson, Lachlan

doi:10.1080/10361146.2020.1774508

Cited by 3 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Holding protests at industry sites was identified in 24 studies [ 22 , 26 , 29 , 41 – 44 , 47 , 49 , 53 , 57 – 59 , 64 , 71 , 72 , 77 , 78 , 86 , 89 , 106 , 108 – 110 ]. Protests draw public and media attention, and have been used by Greenpeace against Nestle for using uncertified palm oil [ 106 ], and by the NGO network Treatment Action Campaign against pharmaceutical giant Pfizer [ 77 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The most prevalent NGO ‘inside’ strategy targeting government and/or intergovernmental actors across the studies was lobbying policymakers, identified in 54 studies [ 13 , 23 , 26 , 29 , 32 , 36 , 40 – 42 , 44 , 48 , 52 , 61 , 71 , 72 , 78 , 82 – 85 , 89 , 93 , 97 – 100 , 103 , 108 , 109 , 112 , 114 – 116 , 118 , 120 – 135 ]. NGO lobbying in the literature included through formal policy processes such as submissions [ 13 , 32 , 89 , 93 , 98 , 99 , 130 , 132 , 134 , 135 ], and informal processes such as through hallway corridor conversations with policymakers [ 97 , 128 , 132 , 133 ]. One study reported, for example, on how NGOs in Lebanon formed an informal parliamentary friends committee for parliamentary allies of tobacco control [ 108 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Two studies reported on transnational protests through the International Day of Action on Climate Change [ 32 , 118 ]. Three studies explored NGOs use of open letters to government as part of wider campaigns in extractive [ 119 ], alcohol [ 51 ] and corporate tax avoidance [ 89 ]. NGO protests included occupying government sites [ 88 , 145 ], parliament [ 108 ], and disrupting global negotiations [ 118 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The symbolic use of a ‘death clock’, a digital clock displaying worldwide deaths from tobacco and hung at the entrance of the FCTC negotiations by NGOs, was identified as an influential symbolic tactic that framed the need for tobacco control as a global public health issue [ 13 ]. Public campaigns included through mainstream media [ 29 , 32 , 40 , 53 , 60 , 83 , 91 , 99 , 103 , 104 , 108 , 112 , 114 , 121 , 122 , 124 , 129 , 138 , 141 , 149 , 150 ] and through social media [ 32 , 88 , 89 , 101 , 118 , 130 ], with government as the specific target. One study, for example, documented the use of shaming awards in media publications by the global Framework Convention Alliance as a key tactic to influence government positions during the WHO FCTC negotiations [ 13 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A framework of NGO inside and outside strategies in the commercial determinants of health: findings from a narrative review

Townsend,

Johnson,

Ralston

et al. 2023

Global Health

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Background Public health scholarship has uncovered a wide range of strategies used by industry actors to promote their products and influence government regulation. Less is known about the strategies used by non-government organisations to attempt to influence commercial practices. This narrative review applies a political science typology to identify a suite of ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ strategies used by NGOs to attempt to influence the commercial determinants of health. Methods We conducted a systematic search in Web of Science, ProQuest and Scopus. Articles were eligible for inclusion if they comprised an empirical study, explicitly sought to examine ‘NGOs’, were in English, and identified at least one NGO strategy aimed at commercial and/or government policy and practice. Results One hundred forty-four studies met the inclusion criteria. Eight industry sectors were identified: extractive, tobacco, food, alcohol, pharmaceuticals, weapons, textiles and asbestos, and a small number of general studies. We identified 18 types of NGO strategies, categorised according to the target (i.e. commercial actor or government actor) and type of interaction with the target (i.e. inside or outside). Of these, five NGO ‘inside’ strategies targeted commercial actors directly: 1) participation in partnerships and multistakeholder initiatives; 2) private meetings and roundtables; 3) engaging with company AGMs and shareholders; 4) collaborations other than partnerships; and 5) litigation. ‘Outside’ strategies targeting commercial actors through the mobilisation of public opinion included 1) monitoring and reporting; 2) protests at industry sites; 3) boycotts; 4) directly engaging the public; and 5) creative use of alternative spaces. Four NGO ‘inside’ strategies directly targeting government actors included: 1) lobbying; 2) drafting legislation, policies and standards; 3) providing technical support and training; and 4) litigation. NGO ‘outside’ strategies targeting government included 1) protests and public campaigns; 2) monitoring and reporting; 3) forum shifting; and 4) proposing and initiating alternative solutions. We identified three types of NGO impact: substantive, procedural, and normative. Conclusion The analysis presents a matrix of NGO strategies used to target commercial and government actors across a range of industry sectors. This framework can be used to guide examination of which NGO strategies are effective and appropriate, and which conditions enable NGO influence.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

A framework of NGO inside and outside strategies in the commercial determinants of health: findings from a narrative review

Townsend,

Johnson,

Ralston

et al. 2023

Global Health

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show abstract

“…In this context, Murphy-Gregory et al (2020) reveal that the Australian tax justice system offers an effective model for decreasing tax avoidance, based on the importance of governmental actors and media attention. Additionally, Australia has implemented several reforms to reduce tax avoidance, including: additional funds allocated to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to establish a new team to combat tax avoidance activities; the Tax Transparency Code aimed at improving tax information disclosure while protecting whistleblowers who report tax noncompliance to the ATO; increased penalties for companies with an aggregate income of $1 billion or more if they violate tax reporting obligations; and the introduction of a new tax on diverted profits.…”

Section: Background and Hypotheses Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Industry specialization and tax avoidance in the Australian banking industry

Mnif,

Tahri

2023

MEDAR

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Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of industry specialization of audit partners and audit committee members on the level of tax avoidance in Australian banks. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a multivariate regression analysis based on hand-collected data consisting of 180 observations from Australian domestic banks between 2010 and 2018. Findings The primary results of the empirical analysis indicate that audit partner industry specialization is negatively associated with the level of tax avoidance in Australian banks. Regarding the audit committee, the proportion of industry specialists among audit committee members reduces the magnitude of tax avoidance. These results are robust, as they hold the same for alternative measures of tax avoidance and industry specialization of audit partner and audit committee members. Results from supplementary analysis reveal that the interactive effect of both audit firm and audit partner industry specialization strengthens the auditors’ effectiveness in reducing the level of tax avoidance. Practical implications As this study highlights the importance of the industry specialization in decreasing tax avoidance, it can be beneficial for policymakers to assess the impact of good governance on the level of tax avoidance in the banking industry. Originality/value Even though the existing studies examine the link between the governance actors’ industry specialization and tax avoidance in nonfinancial firms, this paper explores the banking industry that differs from nonfinancial firms in among others; accounting and fiscal regulations. This study further provides unique evidence indicating that industry specialization of the audit partner constitutes a significant determinant of minimizing the bank’s level of tax avoidance.

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The politics of taxing multinational firms in a digital age

Gelepithis

Hearson

2021

Journal of European Public Policy

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The Australian campaign against corporate tax avoidance: agenda-setting, narratives, and political opportunities

Cited by 3 publications

References 10 publications

A framework of NGO inside and outside strategies in the commercial determinants of health: findings from a narrative review

A framework of NGO inside and outside strategies in the commercial determinants of health: findings from a narrative review

Industry specialization and tax avoidance in the Australian banking industry

The politics of taxing multinational firms in a digital age

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