Some of the nation’s biggest companies – including biotechnology giant CSL, telco Optus and oil and gas producer Santos – regularly spend more on bonuses for their chief executives than they pay in company tax in Australia, new analysis shows.

The finding, described as “a bit rich” by a tax expert, rubs against an ordinary understanding of bonuses, which would typically rise when an executive helps drive a company’s performance. This in turn would lead to a bigger take from the Australian Taxation Office.

CSL, a former Commonwealth entity listed on the stock exchange in the 1990s, paid Australian corporate tax just once in the past five reporting periods – amounting to about $65m – according to ATO data.

During the same period, it paid $US74.3m ($114.2m), mainly consisting of bonuses,

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