The Tax Responsibility and Transparency Index (TRTI) was announced at the European Parliament in April 2024, and fully launched in September 2024.

It benchmarks business tax conduct in five areas:

• Policy & Strategy
• Management & Governance
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Transparency & Reporting
• Contribution & Narrative

There are some 30 questions, with 100 points available for businesses to score. A major focus is corporate income tax but conduct in connection with a broader range of taxes is also in scope (such as total tax contribution). As is a commitment to the spirit of the law – a key requirement of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct.

The index is a high-bar benchmark. Scores close to the mean average can be regarded as being global leadership standard (top-scoring companies have so far received scores of around 70%). Take a look at a real-world, anonymised TRTI Scorecard Report (which includes sector and country rankings) here.

Businesses can compare their performance against that of an anonymised leadership pool of multinational companies and opt to publicise their scoring and ranking should they wish to.

We’ve worked hard not to reinvent the wheel: where relevant, questions use the same wording and terminology as that of well-established existing frameworks, such as GRI 207, the Fair Tax Mark and UN PRI.

Our methodology, weightings and scoring system are completely transparent. Our TRTI Index Assessment Criteria is available here.

To express interest in being assessed and benchmarked, simply complete this short enquiry form, or reach out to info@taxindex.net.

There is a flat fee of €8,000, and the process can be completed in a few weeks. Discounts are available to members of CSR Europe and businesses that are Fair Tax Mark accredited. Participation in multiple years is also discounted.

Once we have agreed to proceed, a letter of engagement will be issued that details exact timings, responsibilities, confidentiality undertakings, criteria and other matters.

Companies are assessed by qualified accountancy and tax professionals from the Fair Tax Foundation. After our initial assessment there will be one opportunity to engage with us before the final scoring is issued.

Once you have been issued with your TRTI Scorecard Report, you may choose whether or not to publicise your ranking.

Fortum rank highly in Index

Nordic energy company Fortum scored 74 points out of 100 overall in the Tax Responsibility and Transparency Index, with 21/25 points for Transparency & Reporting.

In this video, Fortum Vice-President Corporate Tax Reijo Salo, Director Group Tax Anna Wrzesinska and Director Business Tax and Tax Controversy Katariina Lehtimäki discuss why they decided to get involved, their experience going through the Index assessment and their plans for the future.

Watch the video or read more here.

Enquire about undertaking an Index assessment below.

Tax Responsibility and Transparency Index triples in size thanks to partnership with European Business Tax Forum

In 2024, the Fair Tax Foundation and CSR Europe launched the Tax Responsibility and Transparency Index (TRTI), allowing multinational businesses to benchmark themselves against high-bar civil society frameworks, pending legislation and pioneering companies in five key areas of tax conduct.

From the outset, the European Business Tax Forum (EBTF) were a key stakeholder in the development of the TRTI, alongside civil society, academia and investors.

The EBTF are the leading body of European businesses dedicated to raising the standard of the public debate around the tax position, tax behaviour and tax contribution to society by large businesses. Member companies are headquartered in the European Union, the European Free Trade Association and the United Kingdom, and share a common belief in responsible tax practices and tax transparency.

The EBTF and their members are always eager to learn from, and contribute to, cutting edge tax responsibility and transparency initiatives. Post-TRTI launch, the EBTF were keen to further test the benchmarking tool and help it to grow. To this end, the EBTF agreed a partnership that saw many of their members undertake parallel benchmarking through 2025.

To date, 21 large multinationals, headquartered in ten countries, have now undertaken TRTI benchmarking – with growth being exponentially boosted by the partnership with the EBTF.

Together, these multinationals have a combined income of €625bn, employ 1.75 million people and contribute in excess of €30bn per year of corporate income tax.

The participation of EBTF members has substantially contributed to the worth of the TRTI as a unique tool for progressive business to benchmark themselves against the best of the best.

Moreover, the EBTF used the collective exercise to invite external stakeholders from civil society and investors to share their thoughts on what their priorities were and what tax developments may be around the corner. The feedback from these stakeholders was well received. In turn, the stakeholders were complimentary for having the opportunity to engage on these important issues in such a serious and engaging manner.

Greg Yates, Senior Ratings Manager, Fair Tax Foundation noted:

“We are deeply grateful to the EBTF and their members for helping us to grow and refine the Tax Responsibility and Transparency Index further still. Every single one of the EBTF members that undertook benchmarking provided valuable feedback that was both equally friendly and robust.

“TRTI assessors are now even better equipped to appreciate the many nuances and national variances that are part and parcel of tax transparency, especially when it comes to total tax contributions.”

Martina Cappelli, Senior Projects Manager, CSR Europe commented:

“I’m delighted to say that the EBTF have helped us to take the TRTI to the next level. The dialogues with stakeholders were particularly insightful, with intelligence flowing both ways. These exchanges reinforced the view that responsible tax is a material governance concern, not merely a compliance exercise. Moreover, the appetite for tax transparency is substantial, for corporate income tax and also other taxes.”

Paul van Sloun, Board Member, EBTF shared:

“We would like to thank both CSR Europe and the Fair Tax Foundation for our continued collaboration. The interactions have been extremely valuable, broadening our understanding of best-in-class practices in responsible tax and tax transparency. We also extend our appreciation to the participating stakeholders for their insightful contributions, which have provided us with a much clearer understanding of expectations going forward.

“Furthermore, we would highly recommend that any company wishing to raise the bar on responsible tax and tax transparency participate in the TRTI assessment.”

If you would like to know more about the Tax Responsibility and Transparency Index please contact greg@fairtaxmark.net