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    Amazon Investors Demand Tax Transparency

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    Stockholm (NordSIP) – Investor attitudes toward the way multinationals handle and disclose their taxes are shifting. Moreover, they seem to have the blessing of the regulators. Earlier this year, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) created a precedent by supporting Amazon investors’ demand for a shareholder vote on tax matters. As a follow-up, at the company’s AGM on 25 May, a group of investors put forward a shareholder resolution, calling for the company to disclose its tax affairs in line with GRI Standards (GRI 207: Tax), the globally applicable standard for country-by-country tax reporting. While the vote did not pass, it was backed by 21 % of shareholders, including Norges Bank, AkademikerPension, Actiam and Legal & General Investment Management.

    “While the Amazon proposal on tax did not carry, the wider debate will not diminish,” comments Eelco van der Enden, GRI CEO. “Indeed, the momentum towards investor and other stakeholder interest in companies impacts – on the economy, environment, and people – is growing. That is why we continue to be a strong advocate for transparency on tax and other sustainability issues, as enabled by the GRI Standards.”

    - Partner Message -

    GRI’s Tax Standard was developed in response to growing stakeholder demands, especially from investors, for more and meaningful tax information companies provide. During the consultation to develop the standard, more than 110 stakeholders submitted feedback, of which 55 % represented the investor community with jointly invested assets of more than USD 2.5 trillion.

    “It is highly significant to see that significant investors are putting pressure in this way on large businesses to be transparent about how much and where they pay their taxes,” says van der Enden. “Since we launched the GRI Tax Standard in 2019 – providing the first global reporting standard for tax transparency – the discourse around tax has evolved, from being cantered on only legal and financial issues to recognising that tax is a crucial contributor towards sustainable development.”

    Many multinational companies already report voluntarily under GRI 207, including Allianz, Anglo American, BP, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Enel, Lukoil, Nestlé, NN Group, Novartis, Orsted, Phillips, Publicis Groupe, SAP, Swiss Re, UBS, Unibanco, Visa, Volkswagen, and Zurich Insurance.

    According to GRI, organisations can now turn taxes into a competitive advantage. “Tax is increasingly an ‘engine for good’ and important condition in achieving long-term sustainable value creation,” claim the standard-makers urging stakeholders to better understand the interaction of tax behaviour across ESG metrics.

    Photo by Bryan Angelo on Unsplash

    Julia Axelsson, CAIA
    Julia Axelsson, CAIA
    Julia has accumulated experience in asset management for more than 20 years in Stockholm and Beijing, in portfolio management, asset allocation, fund selection and risk management. In December 2020, she completed a program in Sustainability Studies at the University of Linköping. Julia speaks Mandarin, Bulgarian, Hindi, Russian, Swedish, Urdu and English. She holds a Master in Indology from Sofia University and has completed studies in Economics at both Stockholm University and Stockholm School of Economics.

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