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.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — More than 60 institutional investors and academics called on regulators Tuesday to require more transparency in corporate filings — including information on offshore tax practices. The petition to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is part of a broader effort to align disclosure frameworks with an investment environment focused on long-termism.
Critics may argue the data we base our calculations on is incomplete, the methodology with which we calculate tax loss figures simplistic. And they are right.
Our tax loss estimates are rough because corporate secrecy limited our access to data. We analyzed information for only a small subset of the dozens of countries in which pharma corporations operate, and only a subset of their subsidiaries in those countries. The data we found is just the tip of the iceberg, especially for developing countries.
On February 1, the B Team published “A New Bar for Responsible Tax: The B Team Responsible Tax Principles,” with the endorsement of nine corporations (Allianz, BHP, Maersk, Natura, Repsol, Safaricom, Shell, Unilever and Vodafone). I was privileged to serve as a member of the Company Working Group that oversaw the development of the Principles over the course of 2017, representing an investor perspective.
After several years of engagement with a variety of corporations on these issues on behalf of Domini Impact Investments, I am optimistic that the B Team’s work establishes a promising platform for meaningful dialogue with corporations about their tax practices. The Principles are not perfect, but I believe they represent an important step forward.
I was therefore very disappointed to see TJN’s critique of the Principles, The B-Team: Lowering the bar for tax transparency? I reached out to Alex Cobham, Chief Executive of Tax Justice Network, and both of us felt that our exchange would be worth sharing, as other organizations evaluate the B Team principles for themselves.
In recent months, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been hauled before lawmakers in the United States and the European Union to respond to criticism of the company’s privacy policies and sharing of user data. Now the company’s dodgy tax practices are facing increased scrutiny from an even more important source: some of its own shareholders. In advance of its annual shareholders meeting on May 31, Facebook was confronted with a shareholder resolution (Proposal 8 on pg. 59) asking it to endorse a set of principles to guide its tax policy and to ensure that such principles consider the impact of its tax strategies on local economies and public services. The resolution is a signal from a group of concerned shareholders that Facebook’s tax avoidance hurts its reputation, the communities in which it operates, and creates financial risks to the company’s shareholders.
Tax Experts Travel to California to Present Proposal following November’s Paradise Papers Exposé
SAN FRANCISCO, California / WASHINGTON, D.C. — Facebook investors will vote Thursday on a proposal to require the company’s board to adopt responsible tax principles following the release of November’s Paradise Papers exposé, which exposed the structures behind massive tax dodging schemes of well-known multinational companies, including Apple, Facebook, and Nike.
The FACT Coalition sent a letter to the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) to urge them to require companies to provide a complete picture of their offshore operations by requiring full disclosure of key financial, tax, and operational data on a country-by-country basis. The full letter can be read below or downloaded here.
