Is it a typo? Australia’s monopoly of tollroad monopolies, Transurban, has broken hard with hallowed tradition and actually paid tax. A little bit, at least that’s what its interim profit release to the ASX shows.
Given payouts to shareholders were up 13%, free cash up almost 19%; and given the thwacking $2b in toll revenue just for the half year alone, the tax payable of $21m was a drop in the ocean. But what’s the scam here? Transurban usually pays nothing.
The scam is they are a complicated ‘stapled trust’ security. Crudely, costs and losses go into the company, while profits and cash go into the trust, and trusts don’t pay tax.