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.
Investors and Analysts Call for More Disclosures around Offshore Tax Practices as Shifting Tax Policies and Increased Enforcement Actions Impact Shareholder Value
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Investors are at an increasing risk from the lack of information disclosed by companies about their tax practices, according to a new analysis published today by the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency (FACT) Coalition.
As governments around the world begin to crack down on aggressive offshore tax avoidance, numerous companies find themselves in the crosshairs of tax authorities. Alphabet (Google),3 Amazon,4 Apple,5 Caterpillar,6 Gap,7 Facebook,8 Hewlett-Packard,9 McDonalds,10 Microsoft,11 Shell,12 and Starbucks13 have all faced penalties or are in disputes with tax authorities over their aggressive tax avoidance practices.
The new tax law will do little to change the risk factors. While Congress eliminated deferral of taxes for profits booked offshore, the new 50% (or greater) discount on the overseas rate creates a powerful new incentive to move money overseas.14
For policymakers, investors, and other stakeholders to better understand how the tax laws operate in practice, there is a need for public country-by-country reporting (CbCR) of certain revenue, profit, tax, and other information for multinational corporations (MNCs).
Investors are at an increasing risk due to the lack of information disclosed by companies about their tax practices, according to this November 2018 report published by the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency Coalition (FACT Coalition). Titled “Muddled Markets: Investors Increasingly at Risk from Lack of Disclosures about Corporate Tax Practices,” the report finds that multinational companies have become increasingly reliant on offshore tax avoidance practices to boost short-term earnings in recent years, yet disclosure requirements haven’t kept pace with this changing world.
As governments around the globe struggle with growing budget deficits, tax authorities are increasingly cracking down on aggressive tax avoidance practices, which can have a significant impact on shareholder value. At the same time, shifting national policies around international taxation — including, but not limited to, the recent tax overhaul in the United States — create complexity and uncertainties with respect to returns for investors.
The FACT Coalition filed a comment on November 15, 2018 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to urge the agency to develop comprehensive disclosure reporting requirements of tax information for publicly traded companies. The full letter can be read below or downloaded here.
Justice Brandeis once famously said that “sunlight is the best disinfectant.” It is a quote advocates for government and corporate transparency have repeated each time we are asked if any of “this stuff” makes a difference. For the record, it does.
The latest evidence comes from a recent report produced by two German academics looking at whether a European Union (EU) tax transparency initiative had any measurable impact on corporate behavior.
The story of tireless congressional staff uncovering brazen misdeeds by powerful individuals and corporations in Elise J. Bean’s Financial Exposure has an anchoring quality in the context of rampant scandal that has come to characterize today’s politics. Bean’s account reiterates the point that tax avoidance and tax evasion were endemic to our financial system long before allegations against a sitting president brought them to the forefront of the public consciousness.
While the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI) is an investigative body rather than a policymaking one, the inquiries into abusive tax shelters, secretive banking practices, and corporate tax avoidance that Bean describes illustrate some of the central policy problems plaguing the American tax system.
