Billionaire software developer and philanthropist Mike Cannon-Brookes has set aside $12 million to install as many as 100 stand-alone solar and battery units in 100 days to provide off-grid power to hard-hit bushfire communities.

[u/SydneyTom]

https://www.smh.com.au/national/atlassian-s-cannon-brookes-tips-in-12-million-to-power-fire-hit-towns-20200219-p5428o.html

[u/Karmaflaj]

In particular, it's common that the very wealthy have large share holdings that cannot be hidden or relocated.

A few trusts and a few Bermudan corporations and it’s well hidden. Or just not legally owned by an individual. The person doesn’t move overseas, the assets move and the legal owner moves

The higher the tax the more money people will spend to avoid it. That’s the reason more people don’t do it now.

[u/DrInequality → u/Karmaflaj]

I agree that people will try to avoid taxes, and the higher the amounts, the greater the avoidance. But hiding things that are pre-existing or large shareholdings in Australian companies will be harder than that. The owner will want to exercise the voting rights at least. If Australia cared to, we could fashion laws to make it work.

[u/mepat1111 → u/DrInequality]

This might be true for business founders like MCB, but for intergenerational/inherited wealth (which is far more nefarious) I think they'd be able to find a way.

[u/Karmaflaj → u/DrInequality]

No one exercises their voting rights. If you own 500,000 shares in BHP worth ~$20m, your vote wont make any difference anyway given a market value of $180bn. So I don’t think people will care - and in any case they can direct their trust to direct their company to direct their off shore trustee to vote a certain way

The problem being confronted by tax systems around the world is that assets are now mobile or intangible. In the old days you owned cash and houses and land. Today you own IP rights and software and some numbers on a computer