UK building materials merchant Lawsons awarded first Fair Tax Mark
UK-based Lawsons Group have become the first building materials merchant to be awarded the Fair Tax Mark, signalling they have reached the gold standard of responsible tax conduct.
Established in 1921, Lawsons have a rich history as a family business, expanding their product range to become the largest independent timber, building materials and fencing merchant in London and the southeast of England.
Integral to the business is their commitment to acting responsibly, whether that be through transparent communication of their principles, or a set of sustainable policies, including their tax policy. In actively shunning artificial and aggressive tax behaviour, and paying all taxes in accordance with the spirit of the law, this tax policy is a great example of why Lawsons have achieved the Fair Tax Mark.
The Fair Tax Mark is a label indicating a business has exceeded the threshold of a high-bar set of corporate tax conduct criteria. These criteria include a highly responsible tax policy, meaningful explanations of tax positions and cash taxes paid, public and transparent financial statements, and beneficial ownership transparency. In other words, it is to tax what Fairtrade is to food.
The label is awarded by an independent certifier, the Fair Tax Foundation, which have set these criteria to suit all different types of business. Lawsons have been assessed against the Solely UK-based Business Standard.
They join some 270 other businesses in the UK and Europe to have achieved the Fair Tax Mark, including building suppliers Marshalls, Eurocell and Epwin Group, and businesses in the wider construction sector such as Gleeson and Mace.
Jaime Boswell, Head of Accreditation at the Fair Tax Foundation, said:
“As the first building materials merchant to gain the Fair Tax Mark, Lawsons are putting responsible tax on the agenda for a whole new section in this supply chain. This is powerful because it forms a community end to end in which business can be done with those demonstrating fair tax principles.
“We know that responsible corporate tax behaviour allows businesses to compete fairly, and we’re delighted to have Lawsons in our progressive business cohort.”
Chris Harrison, Group Finance Director at Lawsons, said:
“We have a culture of transparency across our entire business, whether in our dealings with customers, suppliers or our people. As a significant player in the builders merchant sector, which is a key sector for the UK economy, it is only right that we should publicly demonstrate our approach to paying our fair share of tax in full and at the right time.”
Jeremy Norris, group managing director at Lawsons, added:
“The Fair Tax Mark is another way we demonstrate our values and best practices to our customers, suppliers and people. We also believe that this inspires confidence and trust in our goods and services and I would not be surprised to see this accreditation becoming a mandatory requirement for all public construction contracts.”
