Perspective from the Danish Council
for Corporate Responsibility
on Tax and Transparency
9th October 2014
By Lise Kingo, Chair
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The Tax Dialogue
Agenda
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A welcomed conversation
The role of the Danish Council for Corporate Responsibility
Tax on the agenda: What are the issues?
The business perspective: A difficult grey zone
Current international guidelines
Additional guidance aiming for clarity
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The Tax Dialogue
1. A welcomed conversation
• Tax governance
• Corporate tax morality
• Fair tax
• Global tax footprint
• Total tax contribution
• Tax governance
• Tax charter
• Tax code of ethics & conducts
• Tax transparency
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2. Danish Council for Corporate Responsibility
• advises the government on issues that contribute to supporting
CSR implementation by companies and authorities
• initiates activities to promote CSR work by companies and
authorities
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Social responsibility
• A company demonstrates social responsibility and creates value
for both business and society by addressing social,
environmental and economic challenges in dialogue with its
stakeholders and in accordance with internationally recognised
principles for CSR.
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3. What are the issues?
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4. The business perspective
• It is legal – is it also moral?
• International operations vs national regulation
• Competitive and responsible
• Transparent, how?
• Value creation – much more than corporate tax
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Tax policy – an example
We will pursue a competitive tax level in a responsible way by:
• Paying taxes due in all jurisdictions where we have a business
presence
• Only participate in projects supported by a clear business
rationale
• Continue to communicate and share our strategy with
stakeholders
Novo Nordisk tax policy
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Code of Conduct – an example
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5. Current international guidelines
OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (2011):
• Comply with both the letter and the spirit of the laws and
regulations in all countries the company operates in
• Provide information necessary for correct determination of
taxes
EU CSR strategy 2011-14:
• Three principles for good tax governance: transparency,
exchange of information and loyal tax competition
EU Directive on Non-financial information (2014/2017):
• Country-by-country reporting in forestry and extractive
industry
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The Tax Dialogue
6. Additional guidance aiming for clarity
• Three perspectives on tax….
Financial management – cost and compliance
CSR – transparency and fairness
Corporate governance – a responsibility of the board
• … require a collaborative approach
Tax professionals
Civil society organisations
Danish Committee on Corporate Governance
Danish Council for Corporate Responsibility
• Expected outcome
Brief on issues and questions => principles on responsible tax
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Principles on responsible tax
Principles on responsible tax – could be about
• Accountability:
ensuring that tax is paid in the country in which the economic
benefits of the business arise and that any tax planning is
secondary to the commercial purposes of a transaction
• Transparency:
sharing dilemmas and risks more effectively; disclosure on
taxation paid and associated liabilities
• Consistency:
applying same principles and governance as the rest of the
business, taking a global approach to taxation practices
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Thank you
For further information, please contact the secretariat:
rfs@erst.dk