PwC committed 'calculated breach of trust', Senate committee report finds

In January, the Tax Practitioner's Board banned PwC Australia's then-head of international tax, Peter-John Collins, from practising as a tax agent for two years.

The board had found Mr Collins had shared confidential information on Australia's multinational tax avoidance strategy, after a confidential Treasury consultation.

The Senate committee's report, released Wednesday evening, called on PwC to promptly clarify the roles of those involved and release the unredacted version of the emails.

Redacted emails showing the extent of information sharing were tabled in Parliament in May, revealing at least 63 people had received the confidential information.

Pressure has been mounting on PwC to publicly release the names of those who had received the information.

The firm provided senators on the committee a list of those named in the email threads but not an unredacted version of the emails.

The report added the big four firm had sought to protect its reputation by "stonewalling" the Australian Taxation Office when it inquired about the tax leak scandal, by inappropriately and incorrectly applying legal professional privilege to PwC documents.

It also outlined the firm had sought to keep the incidents from the public, despite being aware it was problematic.

"While Mr Collins is a central figure in these events, it is evident from the internal PwC emails brought to light through Senate estimates that his actions were understood to be problematic for PwC if ever made public, and yet were supported and condoned within PwC," the report read.

"There is no evidence that PwC colleagues or leaders called out this behaviour for years, up until it became publicly known in 2023."

The firm was also legally obliged to report the breach of confidential information by Mr Collins long before the Tax Practitioner's Board began its investigation, the report found.

These two "particularly striking" aspects of PwC's approach led the committee to its finding that the firm had deliberately, and over many years, strategised to cover up the breach and the plan by personnel to monetise it.

Greens senator Barbara Pocock said the interim report reflected cross-party agreement on what had happened in the PwC scandal.

"It is untenable for the government to keep doing business with an entity that conducts itself like this.

"The Greens are calling on the government to cancel PwC's registration as a tax agent and will be introducing an amendment to do exactly this. The Government must also enact an immediate ban on contracts with PwC."

Senator Pocock also said the inquiry had revealed a "go-slow and weak response from regulators" in response to the tax breach scandal.

Labor committee member senator Deborah O'Neill said the committee had been disappointed that the firm had failed to clarify the involvement of those in named in the list.

"It shocks me that the obfuscation by PwC Australia continues and that PwC Global appears to be attempting to walk away from this profound ethical failure and calculated breach of trust," the NSW senator said.

"I am concerned by reports of threats and intimidation by leaders inside PwC as they continue in their efforts of coercion and spin."

Treasury referred the matter to the Australian Federal Police in May to consider the commencement of a criminal investigation, after emails showing the extent of information sharing were tabled in Parliament.

In an email to partners, PwC's acting chief executive Kristin Stubbins revealed the names of four former partners were included in the emails, the The Australian Financial Review reported earlier in June.

That included Mr Collins, as well as a former Australian Taxation Office deputy counsel Michael Bersten, as well as Neil Fuller and Paul McNab.

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In a letter to staff in May, Ms Stubbins said the "vast majority" named in the redacted PwC emails were not involved in any wrongdoing.

Greens senator Barbara Pocock in May attempted to table a partial list of the names, but the committee instead referred the document to Senate Clerk Richard Pye for advice.

Mr Pye said senators should consider whether releasing the list of names alongside the still-redacted emails is in the public interest.

"It seems to me that PwC is best placed to minimise the reputational damage likely to flow to staff it says were only peripherally involved, by publishing accurate information about their involvement, rather than leaving it to the committee or others to pick through available information," the clerk's advice read.

He added the documents' unredacted release would not likely affect any future legal proceedings.

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