BBVA Group paid €2.8 billion in taxes in 2015
Last year, the Group paid €2.82 billion in taxes on its activity across the world. The total amount of taxes paid over the year (including both own taxes and the third-party taxes it manages) was €8.16 billion. For the third year in a row, BBVA Group has published its total tax contribution figures, standing by its corporate transparency principle and its commitment to social responsibility.
To calculate the total amount of taxes paid over the year, BBVA uses PwC’s Total Tax Contribution (TTC) methodology, which includes both the different taxes a company pays (labor taxes, VAT, corporate taxes, etc.) on its own activity and the taxes it collects and managers on behalf of the tax authorities in each country or region in which it operates.
In 2015, BBVA’s business generated a total of €8.16 billion in taxes, of which €2.82 billion corresponded to the Group’s own taxes, and €5.34 billion to third-party tax obligations managed by the Group.
“BBVA aims to be an exemplary taxpayer. The information on its tax management is concise, consistent and up to date,” assures José María Vallejo, head of the tax department for the BBVA Group. Every year, through its Total Tax Contribution report, the bank voluntarily discloses a breakdown of its tax payments in the countries where it has significant presence.
By geographic region, the Group paid the most taxes in Latin America (€2.96 billion, including own and third party taxes), Spain (€1.91 billion) and Mexico (€1.67 billion).
Regarding BBVA’s own tax contribution in 2015, Corporate taxes represented the largest percentage (39.84%), followed by VAT (22.98%), employee-related taxes (22.83%) and other taxes (14.35%), which include property taxes, business taxes and local taxes.
In 2015, BBVA took another step forward in transparency and tax responsibility by approving a tax strategy with the guiding principles for tax issues in BBVA. This tax strategy describes the following basic points: Promote the obligation to file taxes for the total value generated by a business activity in each country, establish a cooperative relationship with the different Tax Offices and actively work to foster the development of a new digital tax management environment.