9. september 2013
*Two criteria need to be met in order for country-by-country reporting to be one of the best and cheapest policy measures.*
PWYP Norway underlines these two criteria in our consultative statement to the Ministry of Finance:
*1. Contents: The reporting must be meaningful. Tax payments need to be presented in context.*
*2. Form: The reporting must be linked to the consolidated financial accounts of companies and take the form of notes to the consolidated financial accounts.*
Any country-by-country reporting that fails to meet these two core requirements will automatically entail less confidence in the reporting or higher costs associated with such reporting.
The reporting requirements from the US and the EU represent minimum requirements that have not been presented in context. The important consideration for the EU is that Norwegian requirements start out from the minimum requirements, although Norway moves beyond the minimum standard and has higher ambitions.
The Minister of Finance and the Ministry of Finance are responsible for developing Norwegian rules and have scope for moving beyond a ”minimum transparency standard”, by including the US and EU minimum standards, as currently proposed, whilst at the same time turning such reporting into a ”meaningful” standard.
PWYP Norway urges the Ministry of Finance to take the last important steps to implement these expanded country-by-country reporting requirements, thus making such reporting as meaningful, and at the same time as inexpensive, as altogether possible.
Read the full "PWYP Norways consultative statement in 2013":http://pwyp.no/sites/all/files/PWYPNorway_CBCR_consultative_statement_2013-.pdf
*Other relevant links for the Norwegian hearing process in 2013*:
* PWYP Norways letter to the Ministry of Finance on "terminology in the report":http://pwyp.no/sites/all/files/2013.08.08.Letter-MinistryofFinance_Clarification_of_terminology_in_the_CCR_report_from_the_working_group_0.pdf
* "The report from the Ministry of Finance working committee (in Norwegian)":http://www.regjeringen.no/pages/38318989/Rapport_llr.pdf
* "The Norwegian hearing letters to the Ministry of Finance":http://www.regjeringen.no/nb/dep/fin/dok/hoeringer/hoeringsdok/2013/horing---rapport-om-land-for-land-rappor/horingsuttalelser.html?id=726753
* "The Minister of Finance reply to Parliament question on extended requirements on country by country reporting":http://www.publishwhatyoupay.no/en/sigbjorn-johnsen-svarer
*Relevant links from the Norwegian hearing process in 2012*
* "PWYP Norways hearing sumbission in 2012":http://pwyp.no/en/pwyp-norges-hoeringsinnspill-i-forbindelse-med-land-land-rappportering-i-norge
* "Example possible reporting template for extended CBCR":http://pwyp.no/sites/all/files/2001-ExtCBCR_BriefingPWYPNorwayNOV2012-skjerm.pdf
(Photo: Rune Kongsro)