Invest with Values

The Investor's Gateway to Positive Change

The Investor's Gateway to Positive Change

  • RESOURCE DIRECTORY
    • GETTING STARTED
    • FULL DIRECTORY
    • Top Resources
    • Share a Resource
  • NEWS CENTER
    • NEWS CENTER
    • By Category
      • Local Banking
      • Community Investing
      • Impact Investing
      • Sustainable-Responsible Investing
      • Featured Articles
      • Beyond Investing
      • IWV news
      • Top Resources
    • News Partners
      • 3BLmedia
      • AllianceMagazine
      • CorporateKnights
      • GreenMoney
      • Locavesting
      • MaxImpact
      • InvestWithValues Sponsors
      • InvestWithValues Partners
    • Newsletter Sign-up
    • Newsletter Archive
  • About
    • About Us
    • Brian Kaminer
    • Learn More
    • Testimonials
    • Investments Talk! Video
    • Launch Press Release
    • News Center Press Release
  • Sponsors & Partners
    • Sponsors
    • Partners
  • Connect
    • Contact Us
    • Survey
    • IWV News
    • Share a Resource
  • Spoiler title
    Free GuideSubscribeClose
    Get a free 30 minute personalized guide to
    Invest With Values, after subscribing.
    * = required field

Tax Transparency: The Time for Change is Now

December 16, 2019 By 3BLmedia

On 3 April 2016, the world woke up to revelations in the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper laying bare the murky use of offshore financial services and shell companies, which some individuals and companies were using to minimize their tax liabilities.

The Panama Papers, as the multi-country investigation became known, provided sensational stories involving politicians, rock stars and royalty. But what it also laid bare was the scale of global business’s tax avoidance – often entirely legal.

Tax income is essential for governments to fund infrastructure and services – and support sustainable development both at home and internationally. Corporate taxes contribute to the wellbeing of the people in the country where they are paid and are a key means for companies to contribute to the local economies where they operate.

Yet serious questions have been raised over how the country-by-country taxes paid by multinational companies relate to the locations where they do business.  Transparency to all stakeholders about how much tax a company pays, where they pay it and what their tax management approach is, is therefore highly relevant from a sustainability standpoint.

By any estimate, the scale of the financial cost to governments caused by corporate tax avoidance is very high. Research from UNU-WIDER puts it at US$500 billion each year in lost revenue, while according to the IMF, the figure is up to US$600 billion – with low-income economies disproportionately affected.

What this emphasizes is that non-transparent tax practices make it difficult for companies to show how they are meeting their societal obligations. And that includes to governments, the environment and the communities where they produce, store or sell their products and services.

While businesses do typically already release some tax information, accessible data on how much tax companies pay, and where, can be difficult or impossible to find. When it is available it is often technical, aggregated and based on country-specific legal frameworks.

As a result, there have been growing calls – from investors, governments, civil society, the media and the public – for tax transparency, including comprehensive and comparable disclosure on a country-by-country basis.

It was against this backdrop that in 2017 the Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB), the independent entity that oversees the development of the GRI Standards of which I am the chair, appointed a Technical Committee of experts to create a first global reporting standard on tax.

This multi-stakeholder group included international experts on tax. The draft Standard they developed then underwent global consultation, including a 90-day public comment period earlier this year, to gather views from all interested parties. That process emphasized the widespread demand for better information on the taxes multinational corporations pay, especially from investment institutions.

Just two years on from the new Standard being first proposed by the GSSB, Global Reporting Initiative launched the new Tax Standard (now known as GRI 207: Tax 2019). Published on 5 December, it is freely available for any organization to use to disclose their taxes in a transparent way that adheres to global best practice.

Adoption of the GRI Tax Standard – and widespread organizational reporting of tax strategy and country-by-country tax payments – will enable an open debate between reporting organizations, government, the public and civil society, about tax policies and practices within jurisdictions. For example, it can contribute to discussions about how tax revenues can promote sustainable development.

The scale of initial backing for the new GRI Standard is very encouraging. We have seen major investors, industry bodies, civil society activists, charities, trade unions and many other groups from around the world voice their support for the Tax Standard and the greater transparency it seeks to achieve. To highlight just a few – asset managers Royal London and Hermes, Accountancy Europe, Oxfam, the UN-supported Principles for Responsible Investment, global union federation Public Services International, and civil society groups the Tax justice Network and FACT Coalition.

As the turmoil that resulted from the Panama Papers revelations illustrates, more openness on tax is necessary if we are to start to rebuild public trust in companies, strengthen corporate accountability and facilitate the informed dialogue that stakeholders rightfully demand. I believe GRI’s Tax Standard can enable a significant and progressive step forward in that journey.

By Judy Kuszewski, Chair of the Global Reporting Initiative’s Global Sustainability Standards Board

SOURCE: GRI

DESCRIPTION:

Tweet me: Following publication of the #GRItaxstandard – the 1st global, public reporting standard for corporate tax – @judykuszewski explores the increasing & benefits of #taxtransparency http://bit.ly/35oHOGE

KEYWORDS: corporate tax, taxation, GRIstandards, responsible business, Sustainability, sustainability reporting, GRI

Share This:

This post was originally published on 3BLmedia.com


home-compass-croppedVisit the Invest With Values - Resource Directory to access leading investor information, opportunities, organizations, events, groups and tools.

Filed Under: -Sustainable-Responsible Investing, Beyond Investing

About 3BLmedia

Founded in 2009, 3BLmedia is a leading news distribution and content marketing company focused on niche topics including sustainability, health, energy, education, philanthropy, community and other social and environmental topics.
Learn more about 3BLmedia and their articles.

News Search

Sponsors

Talgra RSF RSF Social Finance logo Trillium MicroVest MicroVest LOCUS LOCUS Impact Investing CFC capital for change

Events

All News by Category

Take the Survey

Why do you care about money and investing?
  • Home
  • Directory
  • News Center
  • Sponsors & Partners
  • About
  • Connect
  • Google Plus
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin

Copyright © 2022 • Invest with Values • All Rights Reserved • 914-230-0741 · info(at)talgra.com
Created and Managed by Brian Kaminer of Talgra LLC

Disclaimer: The information shared through investwithvalues.com has been provided by Talgra, LLC (“Talgra”). No representation or warranty, expressed or implied is made by Talgra, the sponsors, partners or contributors as to the accuracy or completeness of the information contained herein. The website is for educational and informational purposes only and is subject to change. This does not constitute an offer or a solicitation to purchase or sell any security, and nothing herein should be construed as such. The opinions represented in this directory are those of Talgra and should be considered in conjunction with advice from a professional advisor in the context of your particular investment situation. The specific investments included in this website are examples of investments that can be made in each of the different investment categories and are not recommendations to purchase any individual security or investment vehicle.