Responsible tax behaviour for investments

Responsible tax behaviour for investments

As an investor, it is crucial to us that our investments adhere to responsible tax practices and do not contribute to exploiting the tax system.

We distance ourselves from aggressive tax planning

When we invest our customers’ pension savings with the aim of generating a good return, we must do so responsibly. The same applies to tax. We firmly distance ourselves from any form of aggressive tax planning and behaviour that exploits the tax system. 

For PFA, tax havens are not tied to any particular country but to conduct where differences between national tax laws are deliberately exploited to reduce tax payments. This may be entirely legal, but it is not behaviour we consider responsible.

We wish to support a well-functioning national and global tax system. We do this by following a number of international tax principles that we have integrated into our investment processes. Among other things, the principles aim to close tax loopholes, increase transparency and prevent double taxation and double non-taxation.

We also wish to be transparent about our tax affairs. Among other things, we disclose our total tax payments in Denmark and our guidelines on tax matters so that customers and other stakeholders can see how we work with responsible tax practices.

Systematic tax check
We expect the companies in which we invest to follow responsible tax practices, and we systematically screen them to ensure this:
  • For listed investments we screen the companies’ tax practices
  • For unlisted investments we assess whether the investment structure is legally and fiscally responsible.
We likewise require that our business partners do not engage in aggressive tax planning. If we find that business partners act contrary to this, we initiate a dialogue with a view to changing their behaviour. If this does not occur, we can terminate the cooperation.

 

         
Investor cooperation on a common tax code of conduct

To influence tax behaviour both in Denmark and internationally, we have, together with ATP, PensionDanmark and Industriens Pension, developed a set of common principles for how asset managers should conduct themselves in tax matters. The tax principles apply to unlisted investments such as property, infrastructure and private equity funds.

We have found that we can achieve greater impact when we stand together as an industry. A number of financial investors, funds and associations have signed up to the principles.

Read more about the common tax code of conduct        

Read more about our work on responsible tax practices