article_snippet.sent: Earlier, Tax Commissioner Chris Jordan continued to refuse to reveal the identities of a number of companies suspected of avoiding tax by shifting billions of dollars offshore.
article_snippet.sent: Committee chair Sam Dastyari had written to Tax Commissioner Chris Jordan on Tuesday requesting Tax Commissioner Chris Jordan reveal the names.
article_snippet.sent: But Tax Commissioner Chris Jordan refused, and in a response sent to Committee chair Sam Dastyari and tabled at the hearing on Wednesday, defended the decision on the grounds that naming the companies would undermine public confidence in the tax system. '
article_snippet.sent: The Treasurer has been consulted about making these PII (public interest immunity) claims, and has endorsed these PII (public interest immunity) claims being made by Tax Commissioner Chris Jordan as an independent statutory office holder.
article_snippet.sent: The grounds of the PII claim are as follows,' the letter said. '
article_snippet.sent: Disclosure of the information will have a substantial adverse effect on the proper and efficient operations of the ATO, contrary to the public interest.'