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

The Australian Tax Office is auditing Brazilian meat processor JBS over tax restructure

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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.