The OECD’s BEPS project might be still underway, but the impact of its work and changing attitudes towards tax transparency is already being felt among UK corporates, according to separate surveys by PwC, Deloitte and EY.
The OECD’s BEPS project might be still underway, but the impact of its work and changing attitudes towards tax transparency is already being felt among UK corporates, according to separate surveys by PwC, Deloitte and EY.
PwC’s survey of FTSE 100 companies with 2014 year-ends, titled Tax transparency: trends in voluntary tax disclosures (see www.pwc.to/1FH03Dc), showed that more than half (56) of FTSE 100 companies now disclose information about their approach to tax. The analysis of annual reports, corporate websites, and other social responsibility reports, reveals a steady increase in tax transparency across big business. In 2012, just 32 FTSE 100 companies provided information on issues such as their attitude to tax planning and relationships with tax authorities; in 2013, the number was 49.
Meanwhile, Deloitte’s 2015 BEPS global survey (see www.bit.ly/1DqRdg6) showed respondents’ views on the ‘increased attention on “responsible tax”’. Over 550 people from more than 14 countries responded, with 182 from the US and 84 from the UK. Over 90% of respondents (compared to 86% last year) expect their corporate tax compliance burden will substantially increase as a result of additional reporting from the BEPS recommendations, such as country-by-country reporting and transfer pricing reporting; and over 90% of respondents agreed that tax structures are under greater scrutiny by tax administrations than a year ago.
EY’s survey of multinationals, A new mountain to climb: tax reputation risk, growing transparency demands and the importance of data readiness (see www.bit.ly/1HZpK2v), found that 65% of respondents had developed ‘a more structured approach to managing their public tax profile in the previous two years’, and 94% of respondents anticipated increased growth in global disclosure and transparency initiatives.
Andrew Packman, tax partner at PwC, said: ‘Corporates recognise that people want to know where the company stands on tax. Already this year two tax questionnaires have been sent to the FTSE 100, one from an investor, the other from an NGO. The interest in tax is undeniable and it’s helpful to be able to point interested parties to existing public disclosures.
‘It’s hard to have a generic approach to disclosure as what’s relevant will vary for stakeholders in different companies. But with greater reporting requirements soon coming into force, the transparency tide is going in one direction. Being clear on your approach and pulling together relevant and meaningful information makes a lot of sense.’
The OECD’s BEPS project might be still underway, but the impact of its work and changing attitudes towards tax transparency is already being felt among UK corporates, according to separate surveys by PwC, Deloitte and EY.
The OECD’s BEPS project might be still underway, but the impact of its work and changing attitudes towards tax transparency is already being felt among UK corporates, according to separate surveys by PwC, Deloitte and EY.
PwC’s survey of FTSE 100 companies with 2014 year-ends, titled Tax transparency: trends in voluntary tax disclosures (see www.pwc.to/1FH03Dc), showed that more than half (56) of FTSE 100 companies now disclose information about their approach to tax. The analysis of annual reports, corporate websites, and other social responsibility reports, reveals a steady increase in tax transparency across big business. In 2012, just 32 FTSE 100 companies provided information on issues such as their attitude to tax planning and relationships with tax authorities; in 2013, the number was 49.
Meanwhile, Deloitte’s 2015 BEPS global survey (see www.bit.ly/1DqRdg6) showed respondents’ views on the ‘increased attention on “responsible tax”’. Over 550 people from more than 14 countries responded, with 182 from the US and 84 from the UK. Over 90% of respondents (compared to 86% last year) expect their corporate tax compliance burden will substantially increase as a result of additional reporting from the BEPS recommendations, such as country-by-country reporting and transfer pricing reporting; and over 90% of respondents agreed that tax structures are under greater scrutiny by tax administrations than a year ago.
EY’s survey of multinationals, A new mountain to climb: tax reputation risk, growing transparency demands and the importance of data readiness (see www.bit.ly/1HZpK2v), found that 65% of respondents had developed ‘a more structured approach to managing their public tax profile in the previous two years’, and 94% of respondents anticipated increased growth in global disclosure and transparency initiatives.
Andrew Packman, tax partner at PwC, said: ‘Corporates recognise that people want to know where the company stands on tax. Already this year two tax questionnaires have been sent to the FTSE 100, one from an investor, the other from an NGO. The interest in tax is undeniable and it’s helpful to be able to point interested parties to existing public disclosures.
‘It’s hard to have a generic approach to disclosure as what’s relevant will vary for stakeholders in different companies. But with greater reporting requirements soon coming into force, the transparency tide is going in one direction. Being clear on your approach and pulling together relevant and meaningful information makes a lot of sense.’
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