As Coles Group and Woolworths announce their full-year profits for 2024, Oxfam Australia is calling for urgent action to address the growing inequality in Australia by better taxing the excessive profits of big corporations.
Oxfam Australia Chief Executive Officer Lyn Morgain highlighted the injustice of the supermarket duopoly’s profits as the cost-of-living crisis continues.
“It’s unacceptable that while everyday Australians are struggling to put food on the table, Woolworths and Coles continue to report staggering profits. It’s clear the Australian people are fed up with it. We need the government to step in and directly address the failures in the system that allow this toxic situation to continue,” said Ms Morgain.
Woolworths and Coles dominate the supermarket sector in Australia, holding a combined market share of 65.5%. The Allan Fels inquiry into price gouging revealed that market power and a lack of competition are driving up prices for consumers. Woolworths was also found to have misled customers with loyalty schemes and unclear discounting practices.
“While this year Coles and Woolworths did not generate the crisis profits spikes we saw in 2021 and 2022, they still raked in huge profits that many in the community are deeply concerned by with food prices so high.
“According to Oxfam analysis of profits made in 2021 and 2022, Woolworths alone raked in $5.6 billion in crisis profits, at the same time as inflation soared and the COVID19 pandemic and Ukraine war was at its peak. This high profit situation has moderated slightly, but not fundamentally changed, which is unacceptable, ” she said.
Oxfam Australia is calling on the government to introduce a ‘crisis profits tax’ in preparation for the next cycle of crisis profits and a tax on excessive corporate profits, as recent Oxfam commissioned YouGov poll revealed that 80% of Australians believe it’s unfair to allow big corporations to exploit tax loopholes.
“A tax on the excessive profits of big supermarkets like Woolworths and Coles would not only discourage price gouging, but also help boost the budget during tough times and provide much-needed funds to address inequality and ease cost-of-living pressures,” said Ms Morgain.
"We welcome the Greens contribution to the debate on tax reform, particularly with respect to closing the tax loopholes for the mining industry and an excess profits tax in big corporations. We need bold proposals to make our tax system fairer, ensure we have more funding for public services and reduce the inequality created by unbridled and excessive corporate profits,” she said.
For interviews, contact Lucy Brown on 0478 190 099 / lucyb@oxfam.org.au
Notes to editor
Crisis profits’ are defined as earnings significantly higher than what would have been achieved under normal conditions.
Read Oxfam Australia Cashing in on Crisis report.