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Skatt som hållbarhetsfråga - En studie om det personliga ansvaret i förhållande till utvidgade rapporteringskrav för stora bolag

Zingmark, Anna Blanca LU (2024) JURM02 20241
Department of Law
Faculty of Law
Abstract
As the world becomes increasingly globalized, new types of challenges arise. Tax planning and tax evasion continue to cause significant harm to the tax bases of countries. To combat this, the OECD has been working on a project called BEPS (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting) since 2013. BEPS consists of 15 actions aimed at countering the erosion of the tax base and profit shifting. The project has been described as the largest global initiative to address various forms of tax avoidance. One of the regulations stemming from BEPS is country-by-country reporting, which was implemented in Sweden in 2017. This regulation requires large multinational corporations to submit country-specific reports detailing their income taxes in each country where... (More)
As the world becomes increasingly globalized, new types of challenges arise. Tax planning and tax evasion continue to cause significant harm to the tax bases of countries. To combat this, the OECD has been working on a project called BEPS (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting) since 2013. BEPS consists of 15 actions aimed at countering the erosion of the tax base and profit shifting. The project has been described as the largest global initiative to address various forms of tax avoidance. One of the regulations stemming from BEPS is country-by-country reporting, which was implemented in Sweden in 2017. This regulation requires large multinational corporations to submit country-specific reports detailing their income taxes in each country where they operate. These reports can then be exchanged between tax authorities in all countries that have joined the regulation, to provide as accurate a picture as possible of the actual taxes paid by the corporation. As a further step, the EU has decided to introduce a new regulation in 2023 for corporations operating within the EU, requiring these income tax reports to be publicly disclosed for general scrutiny. This regulation has been criticized for potentially undermining the progress made with country-by-country reporting. If the public income tax reporting is not adhered to, the board of directors and the CEO can be held personally liable. This thesis aims to investigate how personal liability correlates with the increased reporting requirements and the motives behind imposing personal liability on the board and the CEO. This has been done by examining the motives for the public country-by-country directive and comparing the public country-by-country-reporting directive with the country-by-country reporting. The thesis has not definitively identified any reasons for imposing personal liability on the board and the CEO. It has however, become clear that the EU considers public review to be of great importance, necessitating the public disclosure of the reports. The OECD, on the other hand, believes that the confidentiality of country-by-country reporting has been crucial for the smooth implementation of the regulation. The thesis has highlighted a potential challenge in the field of tax law. On the one hand, there is a significant interest in ensuring that companies continue to operate and develop activities that contribute to society, and that they can competitively recruit external individuals to key positions. On the other hand, there is a strong global movement demanding higher transparency and social responsibility. These actors argue that personal liability is essential to ensure that companies comply with regulations. Balancing these two interests presents a complex situation, which does not necessarily imply a real conflict at present. However, it cannot be ruled out that the public disclosure directive will not be the last we see in this area, where personal liability may play an increasingly significant role. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
I takt med att världen globaliseras allt mer uppstår också nya typer av utma-ningar. Skatteplanering och skatteflykt orsakar idag stor skada på länders skattebas. För att motverka detta har OECD sedan 2013 arbetat med ett pro-jekt som kallas för BEPS (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting). BEPS består av 15 åtgärder för att motverka erodering av skattebasen och vinstallokering. Projektet har beskrivits som det största globala initiativet för att motverka olika former av skatteundandraganden. Ett av de regelverk som härrör från BEPS är land-för-land-rapporteringen som implementerades i Sverige år 2017. Detta regelverk innebär att stora multinationella koncerner ska skicka in landsspecifika rapporter där de redogör för sina inkomstskatter i... (More)
I takt med att världen globaliseras allt mer uppstår också nya typer av utma-ningar. Skatteplanering och skatteflykt orsakar idag stor skada på länders skattebas. För att motverka detta har OECD sedan 2013 arbetat med ett pro-jekt som kallas för BEPS (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting). BEPS består av 15 åtgärder för att motverka erodering av skattebasen och vinstallokering. Projektet har beskrivits som det största globala initiativet för att motverka olika former av skatteundandraganden. Ett av de regelverk som härrör från BEPS är land-för-land-rapporteringen som implementerades i Sverige år 2017. Detta regelverk innebär att stora multinationella koncerner ska skicka in landsspecifika rapporter där de redogör för sina inkomstskatter i varje land där de är verksamma. Dessa rapporter kan sedan utbytas mellan skattemyndigheter i alla länder som anslutit sig till regelverket för att få en så korrekt bild som möjligt av hur mycket skatt koncernen faktiskt betalar. Som ett ytterligare steg har EU sedan 2023 valt att införa ett nytt regelverk för koncerner som är verksamma inom EU, vilket innebär att dessa inkomstskatterapporter ska offentliggöras för allmän granskning. Regelverket har mött kritik då det anses mot-verka den framgång som har nåtts med land-för-land-rapporteringen. Om inte den offentliga inkomstskatterapporteringen efterlevs, kan styrelse och VD hållas personligt ansvariga. Denna uppsats syftar till att undersöka hur det personliga ansvaret korrelerar med de utökade rapporteringskraven och vilka motiven kan vara för att ålägga styrelse och VD personligt ansvar. Detta har gjorts dels genom att undersöka motiven till offentlighetsdirektivet och dels genom att jämföra offentlighetsdirektivet med land-för-land-rapporteringen. Uppsatsen har inte med säkerhet kunnat hitta några svar på varför man har valt att ålägga styrelse och VD personligt ansvar. Det har framkommit tydligt att man inom EU har ansett att allmänhetens granskning är av stor vikt och att det därför är nödvändigt att offentliggöra rapporterna. OECD menar däremot att sekretessen som finns för land-för-land-rapporteringen har varit avgörande för att regelverket ska efterlevas på ett smidigt sätt.Uppsatsen har pekat på en potentiell utmaning på det skatterättsliga planet. Å ena sidan finns ett stort intresse av att säkerställa att företag fortsätter att driva och utveckla verksam-heter som bidrar till samhället samt att man på ett konkurrenskraftigt sätt kan rekrytera externa personer till nyckelpositioner. Å andra sidan finns en stark global rörelse som kräver högre transparens och socialt ansvarstagande. Dessa aktörer menar att personligt ansvar är viktigt för att säkerställa att före-tagen gör rätt för sig. Att ställa dessa två intressen mot varandra utgör en komplex situation som inte nödvändigtvis behöver innebära en reel konflikt ännu. Det går dock inte att utesluta att offentlighetsdirektivet inte är det sista vi kommer att se inom området, där det personliga ansvaret kan komma att få en allt större roll. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Zingmark, Anna Blanca LU
supervisor
organization
alternative title
Tax as a sustainability issue - A study on personal responsibility in relation to extended reporting requirements for large companies
course
JURM02 20241
year
type
H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
subject
keywords
skatterätt, EU-rätt
language
Swedish
id
9152275
date added to LUP
2024-06-12 08:16:36
date last changed
2024-06-12 08:16:36
@misc{9152275,
  abstract     = {{As the world becomes increasingly globalized, new types of challenges arise. Tax planning and tax evasion continue to cause significant harm to the tax bases of countries. To combat this, the OECD has been working on a project called BEPS (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting) since 2013. BEPS consists of 15 actions aimed at countering the erosion of the tax base and profit shifting. The project has been described as the largest global initiative to address various forms of tax avoidance. One of the regulations stemming from BEPS is country-by-country reporting, which was implemented in Sweden in 2017. This regulation requires large multinational corporations to submit country-specific reports detailing their income taxes in each country where they operate. These reports can then be exchanged between tax authorities in all countries that have joined the regulation, to provide as accurate a picture as possible of the actual taxes paid by the corporation. As a further step, the EU has decided to introduce a new regulation in 2023 for corporations operating within the EU, requiring these income tax reports to be publicly disclosed for general scrutiny. This regulation has been criticized for potentially undermining the progress made with country-by-country reporting. If the public income tax reporting is not adhered to, the board of directors and the CEO can be held personally liable. This thesis aims to investigate how personal liability correlates with the increased reporting requirements and the motives behind imposing personal liability on the board and the CEO. This has been done by examining the motives for the public country-by-country directive and comparing the public country-by-country-reporting directive with the country-by-country reporting. The thesis has not definitively identified any reasons for imposing personal liability on the board and the CEO. It has however, become clear that the EU considers public review to be of great importance, necessitating the public disclosure of the reports. The OECD, on the other hand, believes that the confidentiality of country-by-country reporting has been crucial for the smooth implementation of the regulation. The thesis has highlighted a potential challenge in the field of tax law. On the one hand, there is a significant interest in ensuring that companies continue to operate and develop activities that contribute to society, and that they can competitively recruit external individuals to key positions. On the other hand, there is a strong global movement demanding higher transparency and social responsibility. These actors argue that personal liability is essential to ensure that companies comply with regulations. Balancing these two interests presents a complex situation, which does not necessarily imply a real conflict at present. However, it cannot be ruled out that the public disclosure directive will not be the last we see in this area, where personal liability may play an increasingly significant role.}},
  author       = {{Zingmark, Anna Blanca}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Skatt som hållbarhetsfråga - En studie om det personliga ansvaret i förhållande till utvidgade rapporteringskrav för stora bolag}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}