‘I’d ask what’s stopping them!’ SSE’s Martin McEwen on the march to tax transparency

Fair Tax Leaders features senior professionals from across the Fair Tax Mark accredited business community.

Here Martin McEwen, SSE’s Head of Tax, sets out how tax responsibility has evolved to be a crucial board-level topic as stakeholder scrutiny rises.

SSE are a leading generator of renewable electricity in the UK and Ireland and are one of the largest electricity network companies in the UK. They are driven by a purpose to provide the energy needed today while building a better world of energy for tomorrow, with a focus on low-carbon electricity infrastructure to support the transition to net zero. SSE were the first FTSE 100 business to achieve the Fair Tax Mark and their Talking Tax report has for many years provided stakeholders with a clear and accessible account of what taxes SSE pay and where, voluntarily going beyond what is required by law.

Martin, tell us about your professional journey.

I did my chartered accountancy training in a small rural accounting firm, working in general practice. That gave me excellent broad experience across finance, business and tax. I found tax fascinating and did the CTA exams but realised that if I wanted to use all the knowledge I’d learned I needed to work in a bigger firm. I joined PwC and worked there for a number of years in corporate tax before being approached about a role at SSE. They’d recently acquired a business with large overseas interests and needed someone with international tax experience. I loved SSE’s ethos and vision and have now been here for 16 years. I’ve also been on the board at Revenue Scotland, Scotland’s devolved taxes authority, for the last five years and chair their audit and risk committee.

How has the role of the tax or finance team changed in this time?

The focus on tax, especially in relation to big businesses, has changed massively over the last 10 years or so, which is fantastic. Previously, the role of the tax department was primarily to ensure the business was tax compliant but there was little by way of public disclosures about the company’s tax affairs. In my opinion, that contributed to a lack of trust in big businesses and a misconception that all companies avoid tax. The board’s interest in tax also mainly focused on gaining comfort the company was meeting its tax compliance obligations. Now, tax is regularly discussed at board level and our tax department spends much more time considering how best to articulate SSE’s tax strategy and the taxes we pay, internally and externally.

What drives your business to pursue responsible tax conduct and gain the Fair Tax Mark?

SSE are a business that’s committed to doing the right thing and contributing to the public purse is one of the most important ways a company can share value with society. Tax is at the very centre of the social contract and companies are just as important to that contract as individuals. Having independent Fair Tax Mark accreditation is also hugely important to evidence we are doing what we say we are when it comes to tax.

What would your advice be to other professionals who are thinking of applying for the Fair Tax Mark?

I’d ask what’s stopping them! If you understand the importance of being a responsible taxpayer, working with the Fair Tax Foundation can help massively in developing your tax policies and tax disclosures. In my experience, having the accreditation also helps foster trust when dealing with tax authorities and other parts of government as they recognise you’re committed to doing the right thing.

What are your thoughts on the future of fair tax and corporate transparency?

While tax transparency measures have largely been voluntary in the past, we’re seeing a plethora of reporting standards being developed that should embed improved tax transparency across all companies. I would expect that to increase the level of scrutiny of companies’ tax affairs even more. Investors and analysts are also increasingly using a company’s attitude to tax risk as an indicator of their risk appetite more generally. High-quality tax disclosures, ideally supplemented with Fair Tax Mark accreditation, can therefore prove to be very valuable to companies.

To close, can you tell us one sentence that your team would use to describe you?

That’s a tough one! I’d hope they’d say that, while I recognise tax is a cost, it’s a cost that has to be managed in a responsible manner.