Polls, policy and progress: Why the time is now to celebrate fair tax
Fair Tax Week (9-16 June 2024) is a chance for organisations to celebrate responsible tax conduct and this year it comes at a critical juncture. In a historic election year where more than two billion people in 50 countries will head to the polls, governments around the world are making crucial decisions on how to tax their citizens and businesses.
With public opinion consistently in favour of measures that root out tax avoidance, and often in favour of tax increases when it leads to increased public spending, political leaders are nailing their colours to the mast.
For example, in the UK 59 local authorities have joined calls for more powers to encourage responsible tax conduct when buying goods and services from suppliers. This Fair Tax Week many of them will join Fair Tax accredited businesses in sending a positive message that responsible tax conduct is good for business and society alike.
In many cases, national tax policy changes this year have been a result of implementing broader directives, such as the OECD’s global minimum tax and the EU’s country-by-country reporting directive. These, coupled with in-country corporate transparency Acts and Bills, show a rise in the desire to lift the lid on company activity.
This desire comes not only from policymakers, but from investors, who fed back to us enthusiastically about the five key performance indicators for responsible corporate tax conduct we put to them earlier this year. Corporate tax conduct is increasingly being scrutinised in investor due diligence and engagements, as well being incorporated into ESG considerations, but with interest from large member organisations, now really could be the tipping point.
New directives and investor disclosure requests bring with them increased compliance expectations. Luckily, the Fair Tax Mark, with its high-bar standards on transparency, tax policy rationale, country-by-country reporting and tax disclosures, goes a long way to having businesses covered when it comes to compliance. Even more reason for accredited businesses to celebrate fair tax now.
Growing our movement
With that in mind, this Fair Tax Week we’re delighted to celebrate the new businesses across multiple countries that have gained the Fair Tax Mark for the first time recently. Congratulations as well to all those organisations who have been reaccredited this year. With an ever-expanding cohort of European businesses, we hope to see Fair Tax Week take off beyond the UK.
As we continue to grow our movement of businesses committed saying what tax they pay with pride, we are looking to the future, and planning to accelerate our growth and impact. Watch this space for more information on this and how to get involved.
Finally, we’re so convinced the time is now to shift the dial on tax that we recently launched our Tax Responsibility and Transparency Index with CSR Europe, which PwC’s Global Tax Policy Leader Will Morris called “another clear direction of travel in the tax transparency debate”. The Index serves as a benchmark for businesses in five key areas of tax conduct and has seen keen interest since launching in European Parliament in April. If the direction of travel is clear then businesses inevitably want to be on the right track, and Fair Tax Week is the perfect opportunity to celebrate that.
