Responsible Tax Behaviour for Investments

As an investor, it is of critical importance for us that the entities we invest in behave responsibly when it comes to taxation and do not take advantage of loopholes in the tax codes.

We do not accept aggressive tax planning

When we invest our customers’ pension savings to get a good return, we must do so responsibly. This also applies to tax matters. We do not tolerate any kind of aggressive tax planning and behaviour that takes advantage of loopholes in the tax codes. 

For PFA, tax evasion is not associated with any specific countries, but rather it is about behaviour where one knowingly speculates in the differences between national tax codes in order to reduce the taxes one has to pay. This may be perfectly legal, but we do not find such behaviour to be responsible.

We want to promote a well-functioning national and global tax system. We do so by following a number of international taxation principles that we have integrated into our investment processes. The principles are, among other things, aimed at closing tax loopholes, increasing transparency and preventing double taxation and double non-taxation.

We also want to be transparent about the taxes we pay ourselves. Among other things, we present our total tax payments in Denmark and guidelines for the area so that customers and other stakeholders can see how we work with responsible tax practices.

Systematic checking of tax matters
We require that the companies we invest in demonstrate responsible tax practices, and we systematically screen them to ensure this takes place:
  • For listed investments, we screen the companies’ tax practices.
  • For unlisted companies, we assess whether the structure of the investments is responsible, from both a legal and tax-related perspective.
We also require that our business partners do not practice aggressive tax planning. If we find that our business partners engage in behaviour that is contrary to this, we will initiate a dialogue and attempt to get them to change their behaviour. If changes are not implemented, we may terminate the partnership.



 

         
Investor partnership aimed at ensuring a common tax codex 

In order to influence tax behaviour both in Denmark and internationally, we have – together with ATP, PensionDanmark and Industriens Pension - developed a common set of principles for how asset managers should behave when it comes to tax matters. The taxation principles also apply to unlisted investments, such as investments in properties, infrastructure and venture capital funds. 

In our experience, we have more influence when we stand together as an industry. A number of pension companies have adopted these principles.

Learn more about the common tax codex 

Read more about our work with responsible tax practices