I en kommentar publiceret i Harvard Law School Forum argumenterer en række forskere for, at ansvarlig skatteadfærd ikke indgår tilstrækkeligt i ratingbureauer og virksomheders arbejder med ESG.
Ifølge forskerne er der en betydelig forskel mellem virksomheders ESG-vurderinger og deres skatteadfærd – flere virksomheder kendt for aggressiv skatteundgåelse modtager høje ESG-scores. Forskerne opfordrer derfor ratingbureauerne til at tildele ansvarlig skatteadfærd langt større vægt i deres rating-modeller.
UDKLIP FRA KOMMENTAREN:
“In a recent paper, we argue that amidst the enthusiasm about ESG, a critical parameter has gone virtually unnoticed: corporate tax behavior. The payment of corporate taxes is a powerful indicator of how a company views its role in society and supports the communities in which it operates and the stakeholders with whom it engages. Corporate taxes are fundamental to the provision of public goods.”
“Our findings reveal that three out of four ESG rating providers—MSCI, Sustainalytics, and Refinitiv—assigned notably high scores to these companies, indicating a disconnect between tax payment and ESG assessment.”
“ESG rating agencies, however, are not solely accountable for the tax-related blind spot. (…) We observed a tendency for ESG funds to favor companies implementing aggressive tax strategies. For example, an analysis of the top ten companies with the highest ESG fund investment in 2020 highlights the prevalence of aggressive tax practices among highly rated companies, such as Microsoft, Alphabet, and Disney.”
Hele kommentaren kan læses her.
