Tax Office’s brawl with big tech faces its first hurdle: Pepsi
U.S. technological giants such as X, Apple, Google and Meta this month have also urged Trump to act against Australia on the new federal laws and to “force them” to sacrifice the revenue in schemes such as the incentive of the contraction of the media.
But the ATO has confirmed that it will wait for an appeal of the High Court that passes before the court this week for the tax treatment of payments made to the producer of non -alcoholic beverages.
The sale of pepsico of its concentrate in Schweppes will inform the ATO processes.Credit: Ap
Last year, the tax office is appealing to a decision of the complete federal court, which discovered that Pepsico was not responsible for paying the withholding tax at the Schioalety source of its concentrate of non -alcoholic drinks in Schweppes, which bottle and sells non -alcoholic beverages of pepsico in Australia, including Pepsi.
In Nutshell, Pepsico won his appeal last year claiming that he was only selling his sugary concentrate to his local bottling, not any intellectual property rights on his product. Although it is in relation to syrup, not to the software, the IP itself and the payment problems of the Royalty are at stake in the last legal appeal of the Ato.
“The Ato has deferred to finalize the software royalty sentence pending the result of the Pepsico case,” said a spokesperson.
The tax office stated that the Pepsico case provides incorporated royalties and the discoveries of the high court can provide insights that could influence the final sentence on how the royalties apply to the software agreements.
“The Ato is waiting for the decision of the high court to evaluate any potential impact on its position before finalizing the judgment on the software taxation.”
The hearing should be April 2, just before Trump is scheduled to reveal tariff increases among his commercial partners. Australia could be targeted if it does not give up on these tax issues and perceives commercial barriers.
The corporate briefing newsletter offers important stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every morning on weekdays.
