Company tax take lowest in five years

At a time when the Turnbull government wants parliament to back its $50 billion 10-year company tax cut plan, new figures show business tax collections at their lowest in five years.

The Australian Taxation Office's annual report shows companies paid $62.6 billion in income tax in 2015/16 compared with $66.9 billion in 2014/15, the lowest amount since 2010/11.

The ATO blamed the drop on a decline in commodity prices, which flowed through to weak growth in company profits and capital gains, while the government's small business package and lower collections from bringing forward the monthly pay-as-you-go instalment measure also weighed on company tax collections.