Treasurer Scott Morrison says the Turnbull government has put multinational companies on notice with its new tax avoidance laws which are already producing results.
He says the Australian Taxation Office's tougher powers and penalties have raised $2.9 billion from the tax liabilities of seven multi-national companies.
The ATO was auditing 59 multinational corporations and hundreds of other companies to ensure compliance with the new multinational anti-avoidance rules.
"Our multinational tax laws are having an impact and we now have one of the toughest, if not the toughest, anti-avoidance tax regimes in the world," Mr Morrison said in a joint statement with Revenue and Financial Services Minister Kelly O'Dwyer on Thursday.
"Multinational companies are being put on notice."
Ms O'Dwyer said a special 1000 strong task force within the ATO has been investigating the tax arrangements of a large number of companies, including multinational corporations operating in Australia.
"Everyday Australians pay their tax, they can't avoid it, so it is absolutely right that any large corporation that is not paying the right amount of tax should be vigorously pursued by the ATO through the court system," she said.
But Labor's finance spokesman Jim Chalmers said the government expects to be patted on the back for the ATO doing its job and pursuing multinational corporations who evade their tax.
"Never forget that these companies, which are being pursued by the tax office, are exactly the same companies that the government wants to give a $50 billion tax cut to," Dr Chalmers told reporters in Brisbane.
Shadow assistant treasurer Andrew Leigh described it as a "phoney war" on tax avoidance, and said the government's approach has not gone far enough.
He noted this week marks the first anniversary of the so-called Panama Papers that leaked detailed legal twists, turns and loopholes multinational companies and individuals use to avoid tax.
"Multinationals who feared the Turnbull government would be jolted into action will be popping corks on the Dom Perignon," Dr Leigh said in a statement.
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