An OECD report, Tax morale II: building trust between tax administrations and large businesses, reveals that routine compliance by large business, MNEs and the Big Four firms was generally perceived to be good, but highlights distrust among tax officials over Big Four tax planning.
Tax officials outside the LAC region (Latin America and the Caribbean) generally perceived MNEs/large businesses and the Big Four to be cooperative. More than 60% of officials in Africa, Asia and the OECD thought that most or almost all large businesses/MNEs were willing to cooperate with authorities. This dropped to 49% in the LAC region.
There was a similar pattern on views of Big Four’s willingness of to cooperate with tax authorities. Around half of tax officials (except in the LAC region, where the proportion was 27%) said that the Big Four were cooperative in most cases, but this fell to around 25% (19% in LAC) when asked if the Big Four follow the spirit/intention of the tax laws. However, as the report notes, this may be a reflection that in many countries the tax laws were unclear, and discerning the spirit/intention of the tax laws could be challenging.
Tax officials were asked whether the Big Four only promoted tax planning that was aligned with substance (i.e. did not promote artificial tax-planning structures). Around only 20% of officials in Africa, Asia and the LAC region thought that the Big Four promoted tax planning aligned with substance in the majority of cases (29% in the OECD).
The report also captured views on the Big Four’s lobbying behaviour. While most tax officials thought most large businesses/MNEs and the Big Four used their power legitimately, a large minority, especially in Africa and the LAC region, perceived illegitimate behaviour.
The results were based on a survey of 1,240 tax officials from 138 countries.
An OECD report, Tax morale II: building trust between tax administrations and large businesses, reveals that routine compliance by large business, MNEs and the Big Four firms was generally perceived to be good, but highlights distrust among tax officials over Big Four tax planning.
Tax officials outside the LAC region (Latin America and the Caribbean) generally perceived MNEs/large businesses and the Big Four to be cooperative. More than 60% of officials in Africa, Asia and the OECD thought that most or almost all large businesses/MNEs were willing to cooperate with authorities. This dropped to 49% in the LAC region.
There was a similar pattern on views of Big Four’s willingness of to cooperate with tax authorities. Around half of tax officials (except in the LAC region, where the proportion was 27%) said that the Big Four were cooperative in most cases, but this fell to around 25% (19% in LAC) when asked if the Big Four follow the spirit/intention of the tax laws. However, as the report notes, this may be a reflection that in many countries the tax laws were unclear, and discerning the spirit/intention of the tax laws could be challenging.
Tax officials were asked whether the Big Four only promoted tax planning that was aligned with substance (i.e. did not promote artificial tax-planning structures). Around only 20% of officials in Africa, Asia and the LAC region thought that the Big Four promoted tax planning aligned with substance in the majority of cases (29% in the OECD).
The report also captured views on the Big Four’s lobbying behaviour. While most tax officials thought most large businesses/MNEs and the Big Four used their power legitimately, a large minority, especially in Africa and the LAC region, perceived illegitimate behaviour.
The results were based on a survey of 1,240 tax officials from 138 countries.
