Case study: Australia
Shell Australia requires significant capital investment for the exploration, construction and development phases of its projects. As in many countries Shell invests in, these major projects may take several years to become profitable and this impacts the corporate income tax payable.
Despite being in a heavy investment phase and net cash flow deficit, Shell Australia made total direct tax payments of around A$5.7 billion during the 10 years ended December 31, 2018. These include royalty payments, fees, duties and employment taxes among others.
For more information on Shell Australia see our separate tax transparency report which we publish as part of Australia's voluntary tax transparency code.