"‘Disgraceful breach of trust’: how PwC, one of the world’s biggest accountancy firms, became mired in a tax scandal", 21 May 2023

In the depths of winter 2015, an Australian tax specialist adopted the language of a spy. “For your eyes only,” he wrote, while emailing government secrets to colleagues who would later use them to help clients and make millions of dollars.

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The man who sent the 2015 email was the former PwC adviser Peter Collins, who at the time was helping the Australian government design tougher multinational tax laws. It was part of a global push to stop huge companies minimising their tax bills and shifting profits overseas.

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Collins provided information about multiple tax initiatives, meeting agendas, expected timings and government thinking, as well as a confidential copy of an OECD draft paper on “mandatory disclosure of tax planning schemes”, which outlined possible measures to reduce tax avoidance globally.

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The company has apologised to parliament and the new acting chief executive, Kristin Stubbins, said PwC was committed to learning from its mistakes and building “stronger trust and transparency”.

“We have retained an independent law firm to evaluate prior reviews, conduct additional investigation where necessary and make recommendations for improvements,” a PwC spokesperson said.

“We are continuing to look into this matter and we will not hesitate to take further actions.”

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