Tech

Microsoft Investors Tax Practice Targeting Settlement File


Microsoft Corp., a staple of the investment fund ESG, is being called out by a group of shareholders for what they say is a record of poor tax transparency.

Microsoft Corp., a staple of the investment fund ESG, is being called out by a group of shareholders for what they say is a record of poor tax transparency.

Investors managing more than $350 billion in total have filed a resolution requiring Microsoft to report in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative’s Tax Standards, according to a statement from the group Tuesday. . The resolution also calls on Microsoft to disclose its financial and tax information on a country-by-country basis.

Also read: Are you looking for a smartphone? To check mobile phone finder click here.

“Technology is an area with a history of tax avoidance, in particular,” said Katie Hepworth, tax team leader at Pension Research and Investment Research Ltd., the solution coordinator. is for large multinational companies like Microsoft. The risks of regulatory “investigation and intervention” are of particular concern to investors, Hepworth said in a statement.

That’s when taxes became a hot topic in Europe, where officials targeted complex structures used by multinationals to lower tax rates or bring them to zero. Legislators last month has launched a plan to impose a minimum corporate tax rate of 15% from 2023 on large companies, in order to implement a landmark agreement by 136 countries to stop recruiting companies with a tax rate of today. the lower.

According to PIRC, Europe’s largest independent corporate governance and shareholder advisory firm, Microsoft recorded a profit of $315 billion in 2020, “despite having no employees.” PIRC has supported similar solutions at Cisco Systems Inc. and Amazon.com, as part of a larger campaign targeting 30 companies in industries with a record of tax avoidance or having governments among their customers.

A Cisco representative declined to comment, while a Microsoft spokesperson said they were reviewing a solution but did not immediately comment.

Hepworth said companies that fail to respond to the Responsible Investment Principles signatories’ efforts to address tax policy are being targeted by PIRC’s campaign.

“Our decision to increase participation of technology companies through the submission of shareholder resolutions also reflects the increased risk to investors of strategic tax avoidance strategy, due to the OECD’s historic global tax reforms,” said Hepworth. The tech companies are “clearly named as a justification for reforms” that are also designed to end new digital taxes that the US considers discriminatory.

Microsoft’s resolution, filed on June 13, is led by Danish pension fund AkademikerPension, with co-filers including Nordea Asset Management, PenSam, Greater Manchester Pension Fund and OIP Trust.

Corporate tax speculation – whereby companies shift profits to low-tax countries in an effort to avoid the higher taxes of the markets in which they operate – costs the US government up to $100 billion a year. year, PIRC said. Microsoft does not disclose revenue or profit in markets outside the United States, and foreign tax payments are not segregated, which makes it difficult for investors to assess the risks of stricter tax regulations, PIRC said.

Jens Munch Holst, managing director at AkademikerPension, said in a statement that “if Microsoft changes course and adopts GRI reporting standards, it will boost the company’s brand and will raise standards in the industry.” standards across the entire Global Big Tech sector.” He also said that “philanthropic donations do not offset large-scale tax avoidance.”

Microsoft is one of the most popular ESG stocks globally, thanks in large part to its low carbon footprint. The company is the largest holding company in the world’s largest ESG exchange-traded fund after Apple Inc., according to the latest regulatory filing tracked by Bloomberg.

Shareholders at Microsoft and other tech companies recently hit the mark with resolutions after years of setbacks. Last year, Microsoft reached an agreement with two groups in exchange for them withdrawing their planned proposals; one party resolves the right to repair equipment and the other party seeks an independent human rights review of certain transactions. In November, investors also voted for a non-binding resolution seeking a report on the effectiveness of sexual harassment policies over objections from the company, following reports that people cofounder Bill Gates behaved inappropriately with female employees years ago.





Source link

news7g

News7g: Update the world's latest breaking news online of the day, breaking news, politics, society today, international mainstream news .Updated news 24/7: Entertainment, Sports...at the World everyday world. Hot news, images, video clips that are updated quickly and reliably

Related Articles

Back to top button