Page 13 - BHP Economic Contribution Report 2020

The future of global tax transparency Our contribution
Transparency allows for an informed debate on To be meaningful, information and data should be disclosed
the integrity of tax regimes and the contribution that is useful to stakeholders and is in a format that is
we do – and should – make in the countries accessible, machine-readable and easy to understand and
in which we operate. utilise. Therefore, we support the establishment of a globally
consistent regulatory disclosure framework, including
This commitment is reflected in our support of global equivalency provisions between jurisdictions. In addition,
transparency initiatives. For example, we are represented on we support alignment between the quantitative data provided Our approach
the Board of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative to taxation authorities to comply with country-by-country
(EITI), whose 2016 Standard requires the EITI implementing reporting obligations and the data to be disclosed pursuant to
countries to develop ‘road maps’ towards the establishment any global standards advocating voluntary country-by-country
of Beneficial Ownership Registers. We support mandatory reporting. The alignment of reporting under these initiatives
payment disclosure legislation, such as the European Union would create a consistent basis for companies to disclose data
(EU) Accounting and Transparency Directives. such as payments to governments, minimise compliance costs
and make it easier for stakeholders to compare information
between jurisdictions, sectors and companies. We remain
This Report and global transparency requirements concerned that the number and variety of local disclosure Our payments
initiatives introduced in recent years or those under development
This Report complies with a number of different tax will result in unhelpful complexity. We will continue to engage
transparency regimes. The information on our payments with governments, regulators and civil society organisations
to governments on pages 18 to 23 is set out in to move towards global consistency.
accordance with the UK Regulations, which implement
the EU Accounting Directive. We continue to support the introduction of public disclosure
By issuing this Report, we comply with the Australian requirements relating to beneficial ownership (that is, the
ultimate holder of the benefits of ownership of a company).
Voluntary Tax Transparency Code. We have also adhered This is because disclosure of beneficial ownership is an
to all of the Best Practice Recommendations and important element in making sure assets and income are
minimum standards for ‘large businesses’ contained in fully disclosed to relevant regulatory bodies, including
the Post-Implementation Review of the Tax Transparency revenue authorities to promote compliance with taxation laws. Additional information
Code Consultation Paper released by the Australian BHP has advocated for the establishment of public beneficial
Board of Taxation in February 2019. ownership registers and participated in a range of public
We reflect the Tax Principles of the B Team in our policy forums to achieve that goal, such as OpenOwnership.
practice, for example through the disclosure of our tax OpenOwnership is the first public, open, global database
incentives. The B Team is a not-for-profit initiative formed of company ownership information and provides public access
by a global group of business leaders to catalyse a better to information on who owns 7 million companies across the
way of doing business, for the wellbeing of people and globe. We are a member of OpenOwnership’s Private Sector
the planet. The B Team’s Tax Principles seek to set a new Advisory Group and encourage our suppliers and partners
bar for tax practices by providing a framework that to make disclosures in that forum, helping to grow ownership
details what good tax practice should look like and sets transparency into a global norm.
a benchmark for businesses to achieve.
We understand the connection between the disclosures we
We have a number of existing subsidiary companies, make about the taxes and royalties we pay to governments,
primarily established for historical reasons, in ‘tax haven’ which enable the public to see what we have paid and
countries. These are fully disclosed in this Report. transparency of the contracts we have with governments,
Beyond these requirements, we voluntarily disclose allowing comparison of our actual payments against what is
additional information, including our total direct economic required to be paid. Accordingly, we would support an initiative
contribution, profit/(loss), number of employees and by the governments of the countries in which we operate to
contractors and effective tax rates in the key countries publicly disclose the content of our licences or contracts for
in which we operate. the development and production of oil, gas or minerals that
forms the basis of our payments to governments, as outlined
in the EITI Standard.

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