bottom of the harbour

English

Alternative forms

• bottom-of-the-harbour

Etymology

From the metaphor of money hidden in an inaccessible place. Also, allegedly, incriminating records were in some cases disposed of by dumping them in Sydney Harbour.

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Noun

bottom of the harbour (uncountable)

1. (Australia, attributive) A tax avoidance scheme from the 1970s.
   • 1982 June 5, Sydney Morning Herald, page 13:

     The 'bottom of the harbour' scheme was so named because a company once stripped of its assets, was dumped and, like a body in a cement suit, sank never to be seen again.

   • 1983, Rob Chalmers, Jenny Hutchison, Don Whitington, Inside Canberra: A Guide to Australian Federal Politics, page 121:

     John Howard argued that he was a relatively new Treasurer in 1978 when he was first given some advice from Treasury officials concerning the bottom-of-the-harbour tax schemes.

   • 1985, Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives weekly Hansard, number 18, page 2021:

     Finally, the Leader of the Opposition was caught out for a third time by the 1984 report of the bottom of the harbour Special Prosecutor, Robert Gyles, who sheeted home the responsibility in this way.

   • 2010, John Howard, Lazarus Rising: A Personal and Political Autobiography, unnumbered page:

     The bottom-of-the-harbour scheme involved a practice which effectively denuded a company of any assets, meaning it was unable to meet its tax obligations. […] With bottom-of-the-harbour schemes the legal obligation remained, but the company had no assets with which to meet the obligation.

References

• G. A. Wilkes, A Dictionary of Australian Colloquialisms, second edition, 1985, Sydney University Press, →ISBN.