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.
FACT executive director Ian Gary joined experts and allies from Oxfam America, Tax Justice Network Africa, UNDP, and the Australian and Nigerian governments for a panel on global tax transparency as a part of the UNDP’s Dialogue on Tax and SDGs in New York.
In her debut blog, FACT policy director Zorka Milin details how the ongoing Microsoft profit shifting dispute makes a clear case for greater tax transparency requirements for major multinationals.
Progress on public country-by-country in jurisdictions around the globe continues to reinforce the need for decisive action by the Securities and Exchange Commission to set a consistent, strong standard for multinational public tax reporting.
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.
