Corporate social responsibility 2020 - Flipbook - Page 16
INDUSTRIENS PENSIONSFORSIKRING A/S
RAPPORT OM SAMFUNDSANSVAR 2020
TAX
addressed in the code of conduct have also
become a focus area for them.
Tax
We are ambitious with regard to ethical
behaviour in the tax area, but we are also aware
that this is a large and complex area, and that
there is still some way to go. Therefore, in the
years to come, we will continue our work to
ensure acceptable tax behaviour in our
investments.
Industriens Pension works continuously to
ensure the best possible return for members of
the pension scheme.
However, it is crucial that the tax structures and
methods used also ensure fair tax payments - for
the companies in which we invest and for
Industriens Pension.
Industriens Pension disapproves of aggressive
tax planning and tax evasion, including any
attempts at, and involvement in money
laundering, and we expect the same of all our
cooperation partners.
Investments
Increasing debate on tax payments and
ambitions to ensure that companies contribute
their fair share of tax have sharpened our focus
on these issues in recent years. Together with
three other Danish pension companies, in 2018
Industriens Pension took initiative to draw up a
tax code of conduct for unlisted investments.
Since then, work has systematically been carried
out to ensure that members’ funds are not
invested in aggressive tax structures that may
be used to reduce tax payments to a level that is
not in line with responsible tax behaviour.
Work on the tax code of conduct was also a key
task in 2020. Internal resources have been
allocated to the area, and additional work has
been carried out to establish procedures and
routines ensuring that our investments in
unlisted assets are responsible from a tax
perspective.
Industriens Pension’s own tax payments
As a pension company acting on behalf of
members, Industriens Pension ensures correct
payment of taxes and duties on members'
pension schemes in accordance with legislation.
For the 2020 tax year, activities at Industriens
Pension resulted in payments of taxes and
duties to the Danish state amounting DKK 3,497
mill.
A specific initiative in 2021 will be to check, by
means of sampling, that individual investment
managers comply with our agreements in the tax
area.
Today, we place greater demands on managers
offering investments, including that the
investments comply with the tax principles we
have established. If this is not the case, we will
not make the investment.
Our tax code of conduct was generally very
positively received by the rest of the pension
sector, and other pension companies have also
adopted it. In December 2020, a number of
large commercial foundations adopted the code
of conduct as well.
Table 3
Taxes and duties paid (DKK mill.)
Tax on yields of certain pension-scheme assets
The companies adopting the code of conduct
have committed themselves to regularly
checking compliance with the code of conduct
by their investment managers.
We can see that there is a good effect if
investment managers are met with the same
stance on tax from an increasingly larger group
of companies. In our dialogue with investment
managers, it is clear that the tax issues
Corporation tax
Real property tax
2020
2019
1,459
3,017
1
2
3
3
337
326
1,564
1,480
A-tax and labour market contributions on employee salaries
59
60
VAT and payroll tax
74
57
3,497
4,945
Tax according to the Taxation of Pension Schemes Act
A-tax and labour market contributions on premiums and pension
benefits
Total taxes and duties
16