With so much at stake, tax departments need to be at the table to help companies consider, construct, and communicate about the tax implications of ESG-related decisions. This requires understanding the company’s values and value proposition – and how these elements are reflected in its tax policies.
What should companies do?
For some companies, incorporating the tax perspective will simply require adjustments to existing ESG strategy and communications. For others, it will require a deeper analysis of the company’s current state and future ESG targets. What follows are some questions to consider when deciding how to embed tax into a company’s ESG strategy.
Disclosing tax principles, payments, and strategies
- What is the process for discussing tax-related ESG issues within the organization? Is there a process for involving the tax department in any tax-related ESG disclosure?
- What is our overarching approach to tax? How do we currently communicate this approach inside and outside the organization?
- How do we measure our ETR in each jurisdiction in which we operate? How is this information communicated within and outside the organization?
- What is our level of transparency around tax disclosures? Where is this information documented? How is it communicated internally and externally?
- Do we have a position on carbon tax policies? Do we know our carbon footprint?
- What is our position on tax policies related to health and/or social justice? How has that been established and communicated?
- How is tax currently represented in our company’s ESG ratings? What is the internal process for obtaining, analyzing and reflecting this tax data? When is the tax department brought into the conversation?
- To which ESG rating agencies do we report our ESG measures? How many agencies are we reporting to? Where are they located?
- What voluntary reporting frameworks are we planning to report under, and what are the tax disclosures required by those frameworks?
- Do we plan to engage with ESG rating agencies, standard setters, and regulators as they design and refine tax metrics?
- How do we benchmark ourselves against other companies as it relates to ESG generally and tax specifically?
Credits and incentives
- What sustainability strategies, targets and goals have we implemented? What role do tax credits and incentives play in meeting those targets by providing funding?
- Which tax credits and incentives do we currently use? How are decisions made about which credits to use and which to forgo? As part of this analysis, have we considered our approach to using credits in fiscally stressed jurisdictions, the volume and level of our credit use, and the use of credits for investments and activities for which there is uncertainty about the outcome? Where and how is this policy memorialized?
- How are tax credits reflected in our ESG disclosures?
Supply chain and revenue considerations
- How is ESG factored into our supply chain decisions? What role does tax have in those discussions?
- What impact do energy and environmental taxes have on our supply chain?
- Are we aware of potential future carbon, labor, or health-related tax policy changes which may impact our business?
- Do we know how ESG-related taxes impact our revenue targets and competitiveness? How are we measuring this impact?
These questions are not all-encompassing but can provide a good starting point for defining and shaping the tax elements of a company’s ESG strategy.
Conclusion
As ESG becomes more central to companies’ business strategy, tax will continue to play a role in defining and shaping ESG approaches and reporting. A company’s “tax creed” – articulating its overarching approach to tax and tax disclosures, should be memorialized and reflected in its overall ESG approach. This policy should be integrated into a company’s corporate governance and communicated broadly across the organization.
If not already at the table, the tax department needs to include itself in ESG conversations to help manage messaging, educate company executives about the tax implications of ESG-related decisions and evaluate potential risks. Companies who include the tax department in these conversations will be better positioned to manage potential risks, identify opportunities and communicate with stakeholders, customers and regulators about ESG tax issues.
(This article was originally published on Corporate Compliance Insights. An excerpt is reprinted here with permission.)