The Australian campaign against corporate tax avoidance: agenda-setting, narratives, and political opportunities

Abstract

ABSTRACT In recent years, Australian tax justice campaigners have increasingly focused their efforts on the issue of tax avoidance by corporations operating in Australia. This article analyses the Australian tax justice campaign and explains its role in propelling the issue of corporate tax avoidance onto the public agenda. Drawing on campaign documents, media reporting, and interviews, we analyse the contributions of the key civil society actors and how they framed the Australian campaign. We show that the campaign encompassed a coalition of diverse groups that harnessed the 2014–15 Federal Budget to frame the issue as a ‘revenue problem’. They espoused an interest-based narrative to localise the campaign to resonate with the Australian public, helping make corporate tax avoidance a prominent national debate. Despite its initial strong rejection, the Australian Government adopted the activists’ framing of the issue as one of revenue raising and went on to address significant corporate tax loopholes.