BBVA consolidates its role as a leader in fiscal transparency
BBVA is the third most transparent company on Spain´s benchmark IBEX 35 index, according to “Contribution and Transparency 2016,” a report published by the Fundación Compromiso y Transparencia (Commitment and Transparency Foundation).
Once again this year, BBVA holds one of the leading positions in this ranking, which is based on information published by the leading listed companies regarding their tax obligations. The novelty in this third edition of the ranking is that it has been widened to include 35 foreign multinationals. The reason is that these companies are making an important contribution to Spain, since they create employment, contract local suppliers, invest in local businesses and pay the corresponding taxes.
The energy company Iberdrola leads the list, with 22 of a possible 26 points. It’s followed by Endesa, with 21 points; BBVA and Repsol are tied for third place, with 19 points each. In general, there is greater fiscal transparency among the companies analyzed, with a steep decline in the percentage of “opaque” companies, which went from 86% in the first report to 32% today. The percentage of companies classified as “translucent” has increased from 11% to 51% and those qualified as “transparent” went from 3% to 17%.
A firm commitment
BBVA’s continued presence among the leading positions in this report is no coincidence. The bank has made a firm commitment to fiscal transparency, as reflected in the new tax strategy approved in 2015, which covers its conduct in fiscal matters.
Adhering to these principles, the BBVA Group has published its global tax contributions. The institution paid €3.762 billion in taxes last year on its business activities around the world, or 25.15% more than in 2015. Its worldwide tax contribution, which includes the bank´s own taxes and those it manages for third parties, totals €9.440 billion. The majority of these taxes were paid in Latin America (€3.075 billion), Spain (€2.372 billion) and Mexico (€1.751 billion).
As for BBVA’s own fiscal contribution last year, corporate tax accounted for the largest part (50.66%), followed by taxes related to employees and professionals (18.53%) and Value-Added Tax (17.94%). Taxes on real estate, economic activity and local taxes made up 12.87% of the total.
The calculation of the global tax contribution was made according to the Total Tax Contribution (TTC) methodology of PwC. This method allows the company to add the different taxes an institution pays on its own activity and those it manages as an intermediary for the tax authorities in the areas where it operates.