PwC Australia tax leak scandal: Tech giants restructured to sidestep Australian tax law, following PwC advice - ICIJ

The PwC Australia tax leak scandal continues to grow amid revelations Uber and Facebook set up new company structures weeks before a new tax avoidance law was set to kick in.

Sydney private equity firm recently nabbed PwC Australia’s government consulting arm for a single Australian dollar, or around 67 U.S. cents.

The fire sale came after the auditing giant burned its local reputation in a tax leak scandal likely to rank among the country’s biggest financial stories of the year.

In January, the Australian Financial Review revealed PwC partner Peter Collins had shared confidential information about a Treasury tax reform plan, on which he was advising, with dozens of his colleagues. PwC then used the intel to court top U.S. tech companies eager to minimize their tax bills Down Under.