Tax legislation sails through parliament

Australian-owned companies with income of more than $100 million will no longer have to publish tax information.

While Labor opposed the measure, arguing it eroded public confidence, it allowed government legislation to sail through the Senate on Thursday.

There were only four non-government senators in the upper house chamber when the bill proceeded through its final stages.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, in question time, defended the measure arguing it protected medium-sized businesses from large publicly-listed companies knowing their affairs.

Without it, companies like Coles or Woolworths would know everything about a smaller company's affairs, placing them in an even stronger bargaining position, he said.