Until the financial crisis in 2008 it felt like very little was being done to stop tax avoidance or unethical behaviour by businesses, but the climate has now changed.
Just because something isn’t illegal it doesn’t mean its ethical or moral and customers are now holding businesses to account.
UK waste management agency Business Waste polled 2,000 shoppers about their high street habits and found that 90% said they take a business’s ethical record and accreditation into account when it comes to things like paying taxes and environmental issues.[startup donut]
For example, 95% look for hygiene certificates and 75% want to see indications that companies they use are taking care of the planet. In addition, 45% say they would only consider using businesses that pay their tax in the UK.
Since 2012 we have seen companies like Google, Amazon and Star Bucks held to account over tax by the public accounts committee.
Back in 2014 Fair Tax was launched to try to help promote businesses who pay taxes rather than trying to avoid paying
The Fair Tax Mark Criteria assess the quality of a business’ publicly available information on key tax and transparency issues. In this context, publicly available information primarily means a full set of accounts available to all via Companies House or the company website. However, it can also include the company website and/or any other freely available printed material.
For every business type, the criteria are divided into two main categories that assess a business on:
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Transparency
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Tax rate, disclosure and avoidance
Its time that all businesses became ethical businesses!
