Taxpayers have to plan their tax affairs to plan their life or develop their business strategy. Often tax planning is encouraged and intended by tax legislation but sometimes it is not. By way of tax incentives, the tax legislator often tries to steer citizens' behaviour to achieve all kind of policy goals. This way the tax legislator stimulates taxpayers to adopt a calculating attitude towards the tax system, breeding a rule-based mindset focused on tax planning. This rule focus crowds out ethics. Taxpayers turn around the rules to their advantage. The tax legislator usually reacts with refined or new rules that add to the existing complexity of tax law. Companies endorsing corporate social responsibility (CSR) accept ethical obligations beyond compliance with the law. It is argued that these companies should agree that the interpretation and use of tax rules are based on a moral choice that rules out strictly complying with the letter of the law. CSR companies should even take one more step in endorsing the view that tax is a body of rules, which itself is grounded in principles that make up the internal morality of law. Therefore, they should take these principles seriously when engaging in tax planning.
Multinational corporations’ tax practices are hotly debated nowadays. Multinationals are accused of not paying their fair share of taxes. Apparently, acting within the limits set by law is not sufficient to qualify as morally responsible behavior anymore.
This article offers ethical reflection on the current debate. The general public typically evaluates (aggressive) tax planning in moral terms rather than legal terms. Therefore, multinationals need to reflect on their tax planning strategy next to economic and legal terms also in ethical terms. This article addresses the relationship between society, morality and taxes. The concepts of tax planning, “aggressive tax planning”, “tax evasion” and “tax avoidance” are elaborated on to exemplify the difference between a purely legal and broader approach. In moral terms, aggressive tax planning may imply loss of integrity and trust which may entail certain costs for businesses, such as reputation damage. It will be argued that in order to improve corporate reputation and (moral) leadership, corporate social responsibility (CSR), endorsed by many corporations around the globe, is a helpful tool. Reflection on tax planning in the context of CSR - good tax governance - should foster a moral mind set and enhance accountability and transparency.
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