Finance · Tax · Component
Tax policy
The conduct the organisation has committed to on tax, its appetite for tax risk, and who is allowed to decide what.
The deliverable
What it is
A tax policy states in advance what kinds of arrangement the organisation will and will not use. It moves the question away from the size of a particular saving and towards whether the arrangement fits the principles already agreed.
The policy is internal. If the organisation publishes a statement based on it, the publication belongs to Reporting in Stakeholders; the commitments themselves are recorded here.
One level in
What it is made of
Each element is a constituent part of the component. Follow one to see the attributes it carries.
Conduct principles
The organisation’s stated approach to tax — the arrangements it accepts, those it declines, and how it deals with authorities.
3 attributes: Principle · Version · Approved
LearnRisk appetite
How much uncertainty in tax positions the organisation is willing to carry, stated as a level with its reasoning.
2 attributes: Appetite level · Reason
LearnDecision rights
Who may decide on a tax matter at each level of consequence, and when external advice has to be obtained first.
3 attributes: Decides · Advice threshold · Escalation
Learn
Agree the principles before a proposal arrives. Judged one proposal at a time, the size of the saving tends to decide.
The other components in tax
Tax map
Where the organisation is taxable, the flows of goods, services and money between its entities, and what its structure depends on.
LearnIncentives register
Tax reliefs and incentives the organisation claims or could claim, with the conditions each depends on and who watches them.
LearnTax risk register
The tax positions that could reasonably be challenged, the exposure they carry, and when each is next reviewed.
Learn