PwC Australia Tax Scandal Response Exposes Regulator’s Limits

Australia’s enforcement response so far to a major tax leaks scandal at PricewaterhouseCoopers highlights a lack of regulatory firepower that regulators and lawmakers aim to fix.

Australia’s markets regulator on Oct. 20 banned former PwC Australia partner Peter Collins from providing financial services for eight years after he disclosed confidential information obtained in his role as a tax adviser to the government.

Collins and PwC’s Australia arm have avoided regulatory fines so far, however, amid an ongoing police investigation over possible criminal charges and a related lawmaker inquiry. Since the leak came to light last year, PwC Australia has ...