On Thursday, an Australian state banned PricewaterhouseCoopers‘ (PwC) local business from getting new tax-related contracts for three months.
A former PwC tax partner who advised the Australian federal government on corporate tax avoidance legislation shared secret drafts with colleagues to pitch firms for work.
New South Wales, home to Sydney and Australia’s most populous state, took a “proportionate response to the current investigations involving PwC,” according to finance minister Courtney Houssos.
The federal government has also sought that PwC agrees to remove leak-related workers from state government contract work. PwC named 67 current and former employees last week for leaking government tax intentions.
The federal government’s betrayal of trust horrified me. “As more evidence emerges, we will toughen our regime and protect the community from this behavior,” Houston added.
The “big four” audit and consultancy firm PwC did not comment. Acting CEO Kristin Stubbins apologized for the disclosure last month.
Four large pension funds have stopped working with the firm as the Australian Federal Police investigates the abuse of confidential government documents. Some private-sector and government clients have suspended or reviewed their PwC relationships.
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