Swiss Re98042f36-33e8-4308... · Swiss Re Tax Code of Conduct At Swiss Re, we ensure our tax...
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Swiss Re Tax Transparency Report 2018
Transcript of Swiss Re98042f36-33e8-4308... · Swiss Re Tax Code of Conduct At Swiss Re, we ensure our tax...
Swiss Re Tax Transparency Report 2018
At Swiss Re we are committed to making the world more resilient. Ensuring our organisation engages in responsible tax management is part of this promise.
Introduction
At Swiss Re we value being client centered, agile and passionate about our business performance. At the heart of our culture is being a responsible and transparent corporate citizen that helps make communities more resilient. Our long-term objective is enabling sustainable progress by managing risks and opportunities associated with environmental, social and governance issues.
We are compliant with all international tax guidelines, applicable tax laws and obligations in every country in which we operate. Moreover, at Swiss Re, we consider tax as part of our business decisions and are dedicated to managing our tax affairs in a responsible manner. We fulfill our commitment to corporate social responsibility and satisfy our professional and ethical obligations.
The following report provides an overview of our Tax Mandate, Tax Policy, Tax Principles and Tax Code of Conduct. We also present our Total Tax Contributions for 2018 including our Taxes Administered (Borne and Collected) by region and country along with FTEs1 by country.
1 FTE is defined as the total number of employees on a full-time equivalent basis as reported at year-end (excl. independent contractors).
Tax Transparency Report
Swiss Re Tax PolicyAt our highest governance level, the task of overseeing implementation of our commitment to corporate responsibility has been assigned to our Board of Directors (BoD). While the BoD is responsible for defining overall strategic direction and overseeing its implementation, our Group Executive Committee (EC) owns and approves sustainability relevant policies. On an operational level, various divisions, departments and units across the Business Units and corporate functions are involved in implementing our commitment to corporate responsibility in daily business.
Our Tax Policy, as approved by the BoD, is to comply with international tax guidelines and all applicable tax laws and obligations in each country in which we operate. We seek to drive value through expert, commercially focused tax insights.
We are committed to a sustainable tax transparency strategy and have adopted measures to substantiate the principles set-out in our Tax Policy. These include our policies to:
Conduct the Group’s tax affairs in a responsible and sustainable way. We are guided by international tax standards and do not use ‘nil tax rate jurisdictions’ for the purpose of avoiding tax.
Publish our Tax Policy and our Tax Transparency Report on our external websites and
Perform a value chain analysis to ensure we pay taxes where economic value is created.
Swiss Re Tax MandateWe value our long standing commitment to being a responsible corporate citizen. Playing our part in enabling sustainable progress serves as a guiding principle for all our actions. Our Group Tax Mandate reflects our commitments to all stakeholders. This includes our obligations to:
Responsibly manage the Group’s tax affairs and protect shareholder value in accordance with the Group’s Code of Conduct.
Provide appropriate tax advice service and business critical communication to key stakeholders, audit and executive committees and business units.
Safeguard the Group’s reputation by maintaining a strong control environment and tax risk framework that considers current tax laws and practices.
Promote a collaborative, efficient and dynamic work environment which retains and attracts the brightest talent.
Identify & mitigate tax risk managed both inside and outside Group Tax and ensure any tax risks identified are appropriately communicated and managed.
At Swiss Re, our tax team focuses on protecting shareholder value and providing tax expertise all while adhering to the letter and the spirit of tax laws and practices.
Nil Tax Rate Jurisdictions
We do not use nil or low tax rate jurisdictions1 to minimize taxes. Our presence in countries that levy nil or very low corporate income taxes is negligible, with less than 0.2% of total group revenue in 2018 being generated in such locations. See table “Swiss Re Total Taxes Administered by Country”.
1 Swiss Re definition of nil or low tax jurisdictions follows the EU list of non- cooperative jurisdictions (as of March 2019).
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Tax Transparency Report
Swiss Re Tax Code of ConductAt Swiss Re, we ensure our tax compliance is timely, efficient and accurate. We provide sufficient detail which enables tax authorities to form an accurate view of our company’s affairs in each jurisdiction where we operate.
We conduct our tax affairs in compliance with all legal requirements and we align our behavior with the Group’s corporate values along with our professional and ethical responsibilities.
We do not enter into any transactions or agreements with customers, clients or other external business counterparts where the primary purpose of the transaction is to avoid tax or tax disclosure requirements.
Our interactions with tax authorities are open and transparent. We retain all records and documents required to support our tax positions in accordance with the applicable local tax laws.
We ensure we are compliant with all legal requirements and we maintain open and transparent communications with tax authorities.
At Swiss Re, we are committed to being an open, honest and transparent organization that treats all stakeholders with respect and integrity. Our tax principles follow this commitment.
Swiss Re Tax PrinciplesWe are compliant with all tax laws.Our positions taken in all our tax returns must be supported by relevant tax law, recognizing that tax law can at times be subject to different interpretations. Where there is any doubt about the interpretation of the law, all our communication with the respective tax authority will be open and transparent.
We are a responsible taxpayer.We are guided by international standards (including OECD Guidelines) and pay tax in the jurisdiction in which value is created according to the arm’s length principle.
We follow tax rulings.We may seek tax rulings from appropriate tax authorities to provide certainty to our tax positions. These will be based on full disclosure of all relevant facts.
TOTAL TAX CONTRIBUTION2018
3.31 in USD billions
Collected
Borne
Property
Other WHT
Other
Irrecoverable VAT
Employer Payroll Tax
Corporation Tax
Property Taxes Borne
Other Taxes Borne
Irrecoverable VAT
People Taxes Borne
Corporate Income Taxes
Other Tax Collected
Output VAT
People Tax Collected
Withholding Taxes Collected
SWISS RE TOTAL TAXES ADMINISTERED
TAXES BORNE & COLLECTED2018 Taxes Borne
1.17in USD billions
Collected
Borne
Property
Other WHT
Other
Irrecoverable VAT
Employer Payroll Tax
Corporation Tax
Property Taxes Borne
Other Taxes Borne
Irrecoverable VAT
People Taxes Borne
Corporate Income Taxes
Other Tax Collected
Output VAT
People Tax Collected
Withholding Taxes Collected
2018 Taxes Collected
2.14 in USD billions
Collected
Borne
Property
Other WHT
Other
Irrecoverable VAT
Employer Payroll Tax
Corporation Tax
Property Taxes Borne
Other Taxes Borne
Irrecoverable VAT
People Taxes Borne
Corporate Income Taxes
Other Tax Collected
Output VAT
People Tax Collected
Withholding Taxes Collected
63% Corporate Income Taxes* 13% People Taxes Borne13% Irrecoverable VAT
9% Other Taxes Borne2% Property Taxes Borne
35% Taxes Borne USD 1.17 billion65% Taxes Collected
USD 2.14 billion
48% Withholding Taxes Collected40% People Tax Collected10% Output VAT
2% Other Tax Collected
Taxes Borne: Taxes Borne are payments, which the company bears itself as a taxable person and which impact the after-tax profit.
Taxes Collected: Taxes Collected are payments which the company collects from third parties and remits to the state. They are pure transit items that do not constitute financial costs for the company and do not affect its results. However, the company bears the resulting administrative cost and the risk of error.
Corporate Income Taxes: Taxes borne by companies and which may be levied at the Federal, State or local level.
Irrecoverable VAT (and other consumption taxes): Taxes and duties levied on the production, sale or use of goods and services, including taxes and duties levied on international trade and transactions.
Other Taxes Borne: Any taxes not otherwise included.
People Taxes Borne: Taxes on employment and social security contributions.
Property Taxes Borne: Taxes on the ownership, use or transfer of property.
Other Tax Collected: Taxes not otherwise included in the above categories.
Output VAT: VAT charged on and collected by companies on the sale of goods and services to their customers and paid over to the Government.
People Taxes Collected: Taxes on employment and social security contributions.
Withholding Taxes Collected: Withholding tax on payments made to third parties.
* All figures are on cash tax basis. Recent years‘ earnings (2017 and 2018) were impacted by several, severe natural catastrophes and man-made losses. Therefore, the percentage of Corporate Income Tax in those years was on average lower than previous years. In 2016, a year less affected by severity in losses, the Corporate Income Tax rate was higher at 69% of Total Taxes Borne.
Tax Transparency Report
AmericasTaxes Borne: 131Taxes Collected: 174Taxes Administered: 305
Asia PacificTaxes Borne: 163Taxes Collected: 207Taxes Administered: 370
EMEA*Taxes Borne: 592Taxes Collected: 569Taxes Administered: 1 161
SwitzerlandTaxes Borne: 288Taxes Collected: 1 185Taxes Administered: 1 473
Grand Total: Taxes Borne: 1 173 Taxes Collected: 2 136 Taxes Administered: 3 309
*EMEA excluding Switzerland
SWISS RE TOTAL TAXES ADMINISTERED BY COUNTRY
The following chart provides an overview of Number of FTEs1 and Total Taxes Administered (including borne and collected) in Swiss Re’s Top 20 jurisdictions ranked by Total Revenue2. These represent 98% of the total revenue collected for Swiss Re.
FY 2018, in USD millions (except FTE, in units)
Country FTEs (Internal) Taxes Borne Taxes Collected Total Tax Administered
Switzerland 3 198 288 1 185 1 473USA 2 495 63 146 209Singapore 293 11 2 13United Kingdom 3 124 344 480 824Australia 215 79 79 158Germany 419 77 35 113Canada 225 41 14 55Hong Kong 258 4 0 4South Korea 40 8 1 9Luxembourg 40 2 12 13Japan 93 24 2 27Ireland 38 10 5 15Netherlands 86 17 4 21China 229 6 86 92Slovakia 1 347 25 13 37India 1 086 18 21 39France 82 79 4 83South Africa 101 2 3 5Israel 14 5 1 6Brazil 321 19 8 27 1 FTE is defined as the total number of employees on a full-time equivalent basis as reported at year-end (excl. independent contractors). 2 Total Revenue as presented in the Country-by-Country Report.
The following graph provides an overview of Total Taxes Administered by Region2018, in USD millions
SWISS RE TOTAL TAXES ADMINISTERED BY REGION
During 2019, Swiss Re management engaged PricewaterhouseCoopers AG to benchmark our disclosure approach against peers. PwC reviewed the draft TTC report in this context and provided feedback to management in relation to total tax contribution disclosure best practice.
Switzerland 1 473 millionAmericas
305 million
EMEA 1 161 million
Asia Pacific370 million
Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd Mythenquai 50/60 P.O. Box 8022 Zurich Switzerland
Telephone +41 43 285 2121 Fax +41 43 282 2999 www.swissre.com
© 2019 Swiss Re. All rights reserved.
05/19, en
