FTSE-100 electricity Infrastructure firm SSE has achieved a new global standard for paying fair tax.
The business, which was the first FTSE-100 company to be Fair Tax accredited in 2014, has been accredited by the Fair Tax Foundation’s Global Multinational Business Standard.
SSE, which has also published its seventh Talking Tax booklet aimed at giving a short, clear and easy to read guide to what taxes it pays and where it pays them, is among the first UK based businesses to do so.
Against a backdrop of the business investing up to £24bn in UK [£15bn in Scotland] electricity infrastructure this decade – spending more than it makes – the report outlines SSE’s £836m total tax contribution in the UK and EURO125M in Ireland in 2021/22, as well providing more details on how the tax was paid in this period.
"SSE considers being a responsible taxpayer to be a core element of how we operate.
Martin McEwen, Head of Tax at SSE
We have always seen being a responsible taxpayer as aligning with our key values as a company, viewing it as an integral part of the social contract we have with the societies and communities in which we have a presence.
We are proud to have been Fair Tax Mark accredited since 2014 and our expansion globally provides the opportunity to move to the Global Multinational Business Standard Accreditation. It remains important to us to pay the right tax in the right place at the right time, no matter the country we are operating in."
The Global Multinational Business Standard was launched in 2021, accredited businesses include listed PLCs, co-operatives, social enterprises and large private business.
The Fair Tax Foundation operates as a not-for-profit social enterprise and believes that companies paying tax responsibly should be celebrated, and any race to the bottom resisted.
Jaime Boswell, Head of Accreditation, The Fair Tax Foundation said:
“SSE became one of the first Fair Tax Mark accredited businesses back in 2014. They recognised, very early on, the overall importance of responsible tax behaviour and tax transparency. It’s therefore fitting that SSE is the first UK-based multinational business to transition over to our new Global Multinational Standard, which we launched last year.
"Every year, SSE produce a ‘Talking Tax’ report, which provides a significant amount of enhanced and additional disclosures, commitments and explanations towards its taxes and conduct. It is wonderful to see a business like SSE continually working and improving on its tax reporting and transparency.
”SSE was also recently recognised with the PWC Building Public Trust Tax Reporting Award for UK focused companies in the FTSE 350."