Australians’ Uber obsession nears $15 billion a year

Australians’ spending with Uber jumped more than $2 billion to $14.5 billion last year, as the transport giant boasts of its confidence in overturning a legal decision forcing it to pay tens of millions of dollars in local payroll taxes.

The multinational recorded more than $2.1 billion in gross profit, but paid minimal local corporate income tax for the year, after its final profit dropped as a result of the $1.85 billion Uber paid in “service fees” to other companies owned by its US-headquartered parent.

Uber’s figures cover the first full calendar year after the company agreed to pay about $272 million to settle a class action from Australian taxi drivers for the income they lost due to its aggressive, unregulated launch here in the 2010s.

Company financial statements for the 2025 calendar year, filed with the corporate regulator in recent days, show Australians collectively paid more than $14.5 billion last year to Uber entities for a range of its services, with rideshare trips and food delivery generating the majority.

Billions of those dollars were in turn paid to Uber’s drivers – a workforce which numbers more than 100,000 in Australia, but who are classified as private contractors rather than employees – as well as to restaurants.

This led to Uber posting $2.123 billion in gross profit in 2025, up from $1.981 billion the year before. Of the more than $2.1 billion gross profit, $2.07 billion was then spent on administrative expenses. A note to Uber’s accounts show it paid $1.852 billion to related companies under Uber’s global business, headquartered overseas, for unspecified “service fees”.

The company had 568 employees in Australia as of 31 December. The figures, which major companies are required to lodge, are a snapshot of Uber’s finances and do not present a full picture of its business.

Uber also spent just under $190 million on marketing in Australia, including through promotions targeting new as well as lapsed customers to take rides or order meals.

Uber posted an $8.7 million net profit in Australia in 2025, down from $21.2 million in 2024.

The financial documents, which show Uber paid just $15.58 million in income tax in 2025, also acknowledge a $81.5 million payroll tax dispute the company is fighting against the NSW government that could set a precedent for all states.

In 2024, the NSW Supreme Court ruled that Uber was not liable for the payroll tax bill that Revenue NSW had sought. The court found Uber collected payments for its driver partners, rather than paying their wages.

That decision was overturned by the NSW Court of Appeal last year, which Uber has since appealed to the High Court.

While the High Court is yet to rule on the case, Uber has expressed its confidence in succeeding. It made no provisions for the potential $81.5 million liability, which could expand to hundreds of millions if replicated over more time and in other states.

“As of the date of the consolidated financial statements, management continues to believe that it will succeed in the appeal and thus it would not be liable for the assessed payroll tax amounts under dispute,” said Uber’s financial statement, audited by consulting firm PwC.

“The group has not recognised a provision for this dispute on the basis that it is not probable that the group will be liable for this obligation once the litigation process is complete,” it said.

The comments prompted the NSW government on Monday to throw caution on Uber’s bullishness in relation to the tax dispute.

“Multinational corporations which make multi-billion dollar profits don’t get a free ride,” a spokesman for Courtney Houssos, the state’s finance minister, said.

“If the High Court upholds the Court of Appeal’s decision, we expect Uber to use those billions in profit to pay their fair share and help fund the essential services that NSW families and households rely on,” they said.

Uber’s era of bumper profits point to its continued success in usurping the dominance of the taxi industry.

In 2024, Uber agreed to pay $271.8 million to settle a landmark long class action lodged in Victoria in 2019 by more than 8000 taxi drivers over loss of income as a result of the rideshare apps’ aggressive launch into Australian markets.

At the time, Uber was unlicensed whereas taxi drivers often paid hundreds of thousands for their plates, which could be sold on years later to fund their retirement. Big taxi companies also had major power in the market, and were highly profitable despite customer complaints.

Earlier this year, against the backdrop of rising transport costs due to the Iran war-induced fuel crisis, Uber announced an overhaul of its pricing model that disproportionately lifts fares in well-off areas.

Uber trips from CBDs and wealthy pockets of Sydney and Melbourne now cost as much as 39 per cent more than journeys of identical distance and duration booked in outer suburbs.

Uber did not directly respond to questions about its financial performance. A spokeswoman said the company created economic opportunities. “The Uber platform offers flexible earning opportunities for hundreds of thousands of Australians, with the vast majority of partner earnings staying in the local economy,” she said.

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