Konference om skat og virksomheders etiske ansvar (CSR)

TIME: Thursday, 21 June, 8.30 – 17.00

VENUE: The Danish Business Authority, Dahlerups Pakhus, Langelinie Alle 17, Copenhagen, Denmark

What constitutes responsible corporate tax behaviour and how can companies work responsibly with tax?

TIME: Thursday, 21 June, 8.30 – 17.00

VENUE: The Danish Business Authority, Dahlerups Pakhus, Langelinie Alle 17, Copenhagen, Denmark

What constitutes responsible corporate tax behaviour and how can companies work responsibly with tax?

This conference will give you a unique opportunity to learn about an interesting issue that will be at the forefront of the CSR agenda for years to come. You will get to hear from a wide variety of stakeholders as well as some of the top experts on the area, and you will get a chance to voice your opinions and participate in the debate.

Tax is no longer only an issue for accountants, financial departments and revenue authorities. Fuelled by the financial crisis and cuts in public spending it has emerged as a frequent topic of discussion in the public domain.

NGOs are arguing that corporate tax has the potential to be a pivotal income generator for many developing countries and could help finance development and the achievement of the UN Millennium Development Goals. For the past few years there has been an increased focus from the media, tax authorities and NGOs on multinational companies’ tax profile.

Tax has emerged as a crucial reputational risk for companies, particularly what they actually pay in different countries, but also what their policies are in this field. The discussions have been supported by a number of reports documenting low tax rates paid by multinational enterprises, both in developed and developing
countries. This conference will explore how tax can be understood in light of the CSR agenda, what the principles for responsible tax governance could be and how companies can implement them.

The purpose of this conference is to present and discuss a set of principles for responsible tax governance that can help companies, public servants and NGOs gain a better understanding of the complexities involved when discussing multinational enterprises’ tax payments in relation to CSR and political regulation.

Programme:

Moderator: Thomas Ravn-Pedersen, Journalist and Coordinator for Worlds Best News information campaign.

8.30 – 9.00: Registration

9.00 – 9.30: Opening: Ole Sohn, Danish Minister for Business and Growth; Vagn Berthelsen, Secretary General, IBIS

Minister for Business and Growth Ole Sohn will provide a perspective on tax as an emerging issue on the CSR agenda, building on the Danish discussions and in the European perspective. Vagn Berthelsen, Secretary General of IBIS, will introduce tax as a potential key instrument for financing development in developing countries and why tax has emerged as a CSR issue.

9.30 – 10.50: Setting the agenda – Tax as a CSR issue: Martin Hearson, Tax justice campaign manager, Action Aid UK; Sune Skadegaard Thorsen, CEO & Senior Partner, GLOBAL CSR; Mohammed Amin Adam, IBIS Ghana

Martin Hearson will discuss why tax is a key CSR issue and present examples of how developing countries loose huge amount of tax revenue, and Sune Skadegaard Thorsen will explain how tax can be understood as part of the CSR agenda and companies’ work with economic sustainability. Mohammed Amin Adam will speak about the importance of companies in the oil and mining industry paying a fair tax in resource rich countries like Ghana and why the revenue from taxes is all important for developing countries.

10.50 – 11.10: Coffee/Tea

11.10 – 12.40: Principles for Corporate Responsibility on Tax: Katharine Teague, Senior private sector adviser, Christian Aid; Stephen Hine, Head of Responsible Investment Development, EIRIS Company representative; Richard Hardyment, Senior Consultant, Corporate Citizenship

Katharine Teague will present the principles of corporate responsibility on tax that IBIS and Christian Aid have developed. After her presentation there will be a panel debate about the principles with contributions from an investor, a company and a CSR consultant.

12.40 – 13.40: Lunch

13.40 – 14.55: The role of political regulation in the area of CSR and tax: NN, Representative from the European Commission (TBC); NN, Representative from the Danish Council on Corporate Social Responsibility (TBC); Martin Hearson, Action Aid UK

Should EU implement a stronger regulation in the area of CSR to prevent tax planning by companies and what about national regulation in this area? Can the new principles on tax be used in the design of new CSR strategies at national and European levels? This is some of the questions that will be addressed in this panel debate on the role of political regulation regarding CSR and tax.

14.55 – 15.15: Coffee/Tea

15.15 – 16.45: How to work responsibly with tax?: Finn L. Meyer, KPMG; Sune Skadegaard Thorsen, GLOBAL CSR Company representative; Richard Murphy, Tax Expert, Tax Justice Network

Representatives from a company, a NGO, an accountancy firm and a CSR consultancy firm will discuss how the new principles for corporate responsibility on tax can help companies navigate in the difficult area of tax and CSR, and how the principles can be operationalised by companies.

16.45 – 17.00: Closing remarks; Vagn Berthelsen, General Secretary, IBIS

If you want to know more about the conference call Oliver Graner Saebye at +45 35 20 02 66 or send an email to [email protected].

Registration is free. To register for the conference send an email to Oliver Graner Saebye at [email protected] with your name and contact information.

Read more about the conference here.