A spokesperson for the company said this included safety and compliance costs such as background checks and vehicle inspections. Uber has been fighting a costly legal battle over its tax status in Australia, particularly in regard to GST. It has also successfully lobbied state governments to legalise ride sharing around Australia. Tech companies including Uber have come under fire in Australia and around the world for their use of low-tax or no-tax jurisdictions. Apple, Google, Airbnb and Uber were some of the companies interrogated during a Senate inquiry into corporate tax avoidance last year. Since then, the ATO has revealed it is reviewing or auditing 35 e-commerce companies for routing income through low-tax nations such as Singapore to avoid paying tax locally. Uber has benefited from recent moves by state governments to legalise ride sharing in Australia, with the Andrews government the most recent to give the service a green light. Legislation is due to be introduced in the state over the next two years. The company competes locally with James Packer-backed taxi app GoCatch, which launched ride-sharing services in Melbourne this week after launching services in Sydney and Brisbane earlier in the year. The global company was valued at more than $80 billion ($US62.5 billion) this year after it attracted $4.5 billion in funding from Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund in June. Uber Australia is a wholly owned subsidiary of Uber International Holding BV, which is based in the Netherlands. The company argues its Australian operations merely provide support services to its parent company in the Netherlands.
Uber’s Australian division has seen 2016 revenues double to $36m, however it should be noted that Uber Australia only counts 75% of each transaction in the country, according to a recent Senate enquiry. The remaining percentage is routed via the Australia to take advantage of the country’s lower tax requirements. The Dutch entity then pays Uber Australia to provide support services. This system has resulted in an ongoing legal battle regarding its Australian tax status and caused the Australian Taxation Office to launch an investigation into companies routing income through low tax jurisdictions.