They may get humungous subsidies from Australian taxpayers, they may fork out a mere skerrick of tax in Australia themselves, but don't you worry, Big Pharma and the corporate tax lobby will tell you they are lifters, not leaners.

Look at Astra-Zeneca, Johnson & Johnson or Merck Sharp & Dohme, they will cry; they all paid close to the 30 per cent corporate tax rate in Australia last year.

Sorry, but 30 per cent of what? It is this 'what' which counts. This 'what' is taxable profit. The whole multinational tax avoidance caper relies on eliminating profits by funnelling them off to tax havens. The aim is to declare as little profit as possible in Australia.

If you don't make a profit, you can't be taxed. Looking at the Budget Office figures for GlaxoSmithKline which looks like one of the worst offenders; it cost the taxpayer $308 million under the PBS last year. It recorded sales of $952 million for the year, declared a profit of just $22 million and paid a measly $1.5 million in tax.

Here is a company which has notched up $6.6 billion in sales over the past five years in Australia - and received $1.2 billion in taxpayer subsidies under the PBS – but had the gall during this time to produce profits of just $154 million.

You can bet your bottom dollar GSK's profit margins are way higher in London and the US.

For more details, go to: http://www.smh.com.au/business/comment-and-analysis/pfizer-glaxosmithkline-leaning-on-the-taxpayer-20150603-ghf72y