New research finds 26% of the 1,000 largest public companies worldwide are voluntarily using the GRI Tax Standard in their sustainability report, while policymakers and influential stakeholders are increasingly looking to GRI 207: Tax 2019 when articulating tax transparency expectations.
Global adoption trends for the GRI Tax Standard charts citations of GRI 207, which was launched in December 2019 as the first and only global standard for public, country-by-country reporting on tax, alongside tax strategy and governance.
Key findings in the GRI 207 research paper include:
- At 34%, Europe is the leading region where headquartered companies are referencing GRI 207, followed by Asia (23%) and the Americas (19%).
- At the national level, Switzerland leads the way, with 52% of the companies citing GRI 207, ahead of Italy (43%), Russia (40%), Germany and Spain (both 38%).
- Mentions of the Standard per disclosure are fairly equal: 207-1 Approach to tax (28%); 207-2 Tax governance, control and risk management (26%); 207-3 Stakeholder engagement (23%); 207-4 Country-by-country reporting (22%).
The analysis tracks GRI 207: Tax 2019 citations in over 20 significant publications from regulators, investors, NGOs and others – including the European Union, EFRAG, Australian Government, Principles for Responsible Investment, UN Sustainable Stock Exchange Initiative, Norges Bank Investment Management, Central Bank of Egypt, EU Platform on Sustainable Finance, EU Tax Observatory, and Fair Tax Mark.
The publication also highlights benefits of the Standard for users, such as that:
- GRI 207 is helping create a global baseline on tax transparency, which is needed to reduce the compliance burden and provide stakeholders with universal and comparable information.
- Use of GRI 207 to meet tax disclosure requirements will help businesses comply with incoming regulations, such as the EU’s CSRD and Taxonomy Regulation, while addressing perceptions of greenwashing.
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