PWC have been awarded the task of assessing the economic impact of making country-by-country reporting information available to the public as a result of the EU Capital Requirements Directive public. I am aware of this: they have consulted me although how I am meant to provide a meaningful answer as yet baffles me slightly since it is simply to early to tell.
More importantly, at exactly the same time as they are doing this work PWC have made it very very clear that they have strong objections to making country-by-country reporting information public. We know this from their submissions to and commentary on the Base Erosion and Profits Shifting process. They have, for example, said that
For the above reasons, PwC requests the OECD to seek:
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a better cost/benefit balance with respect to the information to be gathered by taxpayers under these proposals;
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a more stringent confidentiality regime - i.e., requiring the master file and CbC template to be submitted to the parent company's home tax authority and distributed only through relevant provision and upon request (together with real sanctions for countries that violate confidentiality provisions);
I think it's safe to call this a very hard-line position against public country-by-country reporting.
No conflicts of interest present here then, but I presume they consider themselves beyond such trifling issues as professional ethics.
Hat tip: Eurodad
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Richard
So you would exclude anyone from taking on this work who has a prior opinion? Who would you suggest takes it on?
TP
This is research
Why not get an independent agency?
Yes – but which one(s)? What does independent mean in this context?
How about a university?
You couldn’t make it up…
Put simply PWC can’t be trusted to provide an unbiased economic report!
You may as well ask vandals to produce a sculpture…