PwC told client it could cut Australian tax by $70m, court documents in privilege fight show

PwC Australia worked on several projects for JBS, including a reorganisation described by the firm as a ‘tax structuring initiative’. Photograph: Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters

Global accounting firm PwC told Brazilian meat multinational JBS it would save about $70m a year in Australian tax if the company followed advice that was deliberately structured as a legal service in order to prevent it being seen by authorities, according to documents released by the federal court.

PwC’s decision to provide tax advice to JBS as legal advice was legal, but the strategy backfired after the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) launched an audit of JBS.