Multinational companies do not publicly report on where they are making their money or what taxes they are paying to whom. Investors, policymakers, and citizens have no idea exactly how they are gaming the system—what they tell us versus what they tell other countries. They should have to write it down in one place and report it on a country-by-country basis, so that the public, policymakers, and shareholders can see what they are really paying.
Widespread adoption of public country-by-country reporting requirements could be the silver bullet African nations need to overcome numerous challenges, including the scourge of illicit financial outflows and tax evasion.
FASB’s revised income tax reporting standards represent a “dramatic improvement” over existing disclosure, and Treasury looks to delay beneficial ownership reporting for newly formed entities.
Under new standards, many U.S. companies will now have to provide additional information on their total cash taxes paid across jurisdictions, as well as more effectively break down the calculation of their effective tax rates for a given income year.
FACT welcomes the Australian Senate’s introduction of important updates to disclosure requirements surrounding the subsidiaries of public companies, and recommends that Parliament swiftly introduce final legislation to mandate public country-by-country reporting.
Pressure from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development contributed to the Australian government’s decision to alter and delay legislation mandating public country-by-country reporting from large multinational companies last month, according to recent front-page reporting by the Financial Times.
New York State passes legislation to implement the nation’s first public beneficial ownership registry, Australia delays groundbreaking tax transparency measures, and recent global fora highlight the need for new measures to curb illicit finance.
