Ethos challenges corporate tax responsibility

Ethos Foundation, which joined SfC – Shareholders for Change in December 2018, has been asked by the 137 members of the Ethos Engagement Pool Switzerland to include the issue of corporate tax responsibility into its engagement program with companies.
In September 2018, in response to the request, Ethos published an Engagement Paper that summarises its five expectations regarding corporate tax responsibility of listed companies. Ethos underlines, that «certain aggressive tax optimisation practices constitute a long-term risk for companies and their shareholders, both in terms of reputation and financial risk, for example in the event of having to pay a fine or additional tax charges».

Listed companies in the Swiss Stock Exchange still publish very little information about their tax strategy, which is crucial according to Ethos, since institutional investors become increasingly sensitive regarding the tax strategies of the companies in which they invest.