The entrepreneur is incensed that the government has caved in to lobbying by wealthy business owners who argue that disclosing their tax affairs would place them at risk of kidnapping and ransom attempts.

Fairfax Media revealed in June that the Abbott government had not requested or received any advice from security agencies, including the Australian Federal Police, to verify any threat before agreeing to repeal disclosure laws that were due to begin this year.

Mr Smith, the 1986 Australian of the Year, said he was in "absolutely no doubt" the main motivation of businesses fighting the new rules was "tax avoidance" rather than any perceived security threat.

"I'm really disappointed in the Coalition on this, I think it is very important they don't change this and I am asking the Prime Minister not to change this. Otherwise he will be ratting on typical Australians who pay their tax," he said.

Mr Smith, who once donated $4 million to the Salvation Army, in part because he did not want to be on the BRW Rich List, said it was "absolute rubbish" that tax disclosure would reveal that the wealthy are in fact wealthy.

"They do it themselves. They buy waterfront properties, big boats, and big planes. They show their wealth off," he said.

"Everyone knows [property mogul] Harry Triguboff is worth $10 billion. A newspaper once said he had $6 billion and he rang up to put them straight."

Mr Smith said he finds billionaires "disgusting" and believes there must be some responsibility that comes along with the lifestyle perks of being rich. "One is proof they pay their fair share of tax," he said.

"If you have turnover of $100 million you should be proud to show you are paying your tax – and most are. The ones opposing this, I'm absolutely convinced, are basically cheating the system, avoiding their taxes and we should not let them get away with it."

Mr Turnbull declined to comment but Assistant Treasurer Kelly O'Dwyer said the Australian Taxation Office has "comprehensive powers" to make sure companies pay their tax.

"The bill is currently before the Senate and the government will continue discussions with the crossbenchers to secure the passage of the bill," she said

An estimated 700-1000 companies with turnover in excess of $100 million are due to disclose their tax affairs this year. They include James Packer's Consolidated Press Holdings, Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting, Lindsay Fox's Linfox and the scandal-plagued 7-Eleven convenience store empire of Russ Withers.

But there is mystery around the lobbying push against the transparency rules. Meat processor Teys Australia, a major supplier to Coles and Woolworths, was the only private company to make a submission to the Senate inquiry scrutinising the bill.

Teys is in a 50:50 partnership with US-based multinational, Cargill. In 2011, the government of Argentina accused Cargill and three other grain traders of "large-scale tax evasion".

The Australian reported this week that documents held by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission show Teys' after-tax profit has risen from $21.3 million in 2012 to $195 million last year. Over those three years, the company's "tax expense" was $99.5 million, but its "cash tax paid" was just $33.7 million.

A recent Senate hearing scrutinising the bill to exempt private companies from disclosure rules heard that one in five privately-owned companies with revenues in excess of $100 million paid no tax last year.

The alarming figure was revealed by an Australian Tax Office official.

If the government cannot pass its Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (Better Targeting the Income Tax Transparency Laws) Bill, the ATO will publish tax details in mid-December, it has said.

Mr Smith has written to all Senate crossbenchers urging them to vote down the legislation, saying that transparency would encourage the wealthy to "do the right thing".

Liberal Senator David Bushby has claimed there was a danger that companies could be "shamed into paying more tax than they are legally obliged to" if the tax transparency laws are not rescinded.

He said Labor's law had set out to "demonise" companies to "get people excited about tax laws".