UPDATED: 4.16PM A former Revenue Minister said we need to find new ways of ensuring multi-national companies pay their fair share of tax.

A Herald investigation shows 20 large companies dodged around $490 million of tax in the 2014 calendar year.

United Future leader Peter Dunne said it's happening right around the world.

"And you can't put a fence around this country and say we are going to treat things differently because these companies effectively are nowhere but they're operating everywhere".

Dunne said the answer is to work on an international agreement, so companies are taxed according to their activities in each country.

"You have to then say well, how much of that is undertaken in New Zealand or Australia or wherever, and they pay tax in proportion to that global income".

Labour's finance spokesman Grant Robertson says part of the solution is to plug holes internationally, but there's plenty we can do here too.

"The bottom line about taxation is it should happen at the point at which the money is earned. We know these companies are earning far in excess than what they are paying proportionally in tax".

Dunne said if we try to find out how much business a company does in New Zealand, that can always be hidden.

"And unless there is some agreement on how to approach these issues, the problem is going to get greater and greater".

Robertson said the first place to start is better enforcement.

"It's not good enough just to say, oh well it's been dealt with at an international level therefore, we'll just wait for that to happen. A pretty simple place to start is if you're doing business in New Zealand you pay the corporate tax rate".

Dunne said the OECD began work on the issue two or three years ago.