PwC was the 22nd biggest political donor in 2015-16 and the most generous political donor of the big four professional services firms, giving more than $232,000 to the two main political parties.
Donations by PwC overwhelmingly favoured the Liberal Party – more than $155,000 went to federal and state branches, and less than half that amount, about $77,000, went to the Labor Party.
PwC's contributions eclipsed other contributors such as ANZ, which donated $200,000 to the parties, and came in just ahead of KPMG, which stood at 26th overall with its donation of about $191,000.
But the big four were well behind the top donor for 2015-16, mining tycoon Paul Marks, who gave $1.3 million to the Liberal Party.
PwC declined to comment on its donation activity.
Annual donations from the big four were up 32 per cent to almost $705,000 – the federal election was held just outside the reporting period on July 2, 2016. This means some donations relating to the election, including Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's contribution of $1.75 million to the Liberal Party campaign, are not captured in the 2015-16 data.
Comparative figures
KPMG gave almost $92,000 to the Liberal Party and more than $80,000 to the Labor Party in 2015-16.
KPMG was also the only firm to donate to the Liberal National Party of Queensland, with an $18,700 contribution.
Both EY and Deloitte gave more to the Labor Party than the Liberal Party.
EY gave more than $86,000 to the Labor Party and almost $70,000 to the Liberal Party, while Deloitte gave more than $78,000 to the Labor Party and more than $46,000 to the Liberal Party.
The big contributions come as government advisory work continues to be a key driver of growth and firms become more vocal on issues close to their heart, including tax relief for businesses.
The most visible move was a joint op-ed in The Australian Financial Review last October by the four CEOs – Cindy Hook of Deloitte, Tony Johnson of EY, Luke Sayers of PwC and Gary Wingrove of KPMG – calling for a phased reduction in the company tax rate to 25 per cent for all Australian businesses over the next decade.
That joint missive came after the unsuccessful campaign before the federal election by Business Council of Australia for company tax relief.
Mr Turnbull has earmarked company tax reduction as a priority for 2017 but he will struggle to get the changes through the Senate. The Australian Industry Group has proposed a compromise deal where the tax rate for micro, small or medium-sized businesses would be cut from 30 per cent to 27.5 per cent.
Donations 'normal business practice'
A spokeswoman for KPMG said political donations were part of "normal business practice".
"Donations represent memberships and sponsorships of business associations and conferences, not cash donations," she said.
"Business associations are managed by each of the major political parties operating at both a state and federal level.
"We believe business has an important role to play with government and opposition relating to policy and regulation development, review and reform."
EY's spokeswoman said the firm provided a similar level of donations to the major parties.
"EY's political donations policy clearly sets out an intent to provide equal support to the major political parties," she said. This has been generally the case over previous years."
A spokesman for Deloitte said the firm's donations were generally not cash-based.
"Deloitte has a long bipartisan history of donating equally to major political parties," he said.
"These donations are generally in kind, for example, hosting events that foster ideas and debate regarding the development and formation of policy.
