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· Posted on
February 21, 2024

Twitter is leaking money in Australia, but they ain't paying much tax either

Twitter Australia revealed its revenue grew to $149,812 last year, but it only paid around $150,000 in tax.

What's the key learning?

  • Twitter revealed its revenue grew by 11% to $14.8 million last year
  • It paid just $149,812 in income tax, compared to $1.3 million the year prior
  • Companies only pay tax on their profits NOT their revenue.

👉 Background: In Australia, Twitter has around 5.8 million monthly users. And they've been making headlines thanks to a potential acquisition by a Mr. Elon Musk.

👉 What happened: Twitter has disclosed its local earnings to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission... and it revealed its revenue grew by 11% to $14.8 million last year.

👉 What else: It sounds low, but that's because Twitter doesn't split out its ad revenue, so we don't really know how much it actually made. Either way, Twitter paid only $149,812 in income tax, compared to $1.3 million the year prior.

What's the key learning?

💡Companies only pay tax on their profits NOT their revenue. Sounds basic, but it's a key reason why multinationals are able to funnel cash generated in Oz to offshore accounts.

💡In other words, companies pay tax on the money left over after deducting:

  • The cost of goods sold
  • General and administrative expenses
  • Research and development costs
  • Depreciation
  • Selling and marketing costs.

💡In Twitter's case, they ended up with a $2 mil loss after deducting all their operating costs, putting their overall taxable income in the red. That's why the company paid so little in income tax.

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