The Tax Responsibility and Transparency Index enables multinational businesses to benchmark themselves against high-bar civil society frameworks, pending legislation and pioneering companies in five key areas of tax conduct.
It has been developed following more than 12 months of consultation with stakeholders from across civil society, business, academia and investors.
Co-developed by
The Tax Responsibility and Transparency (TR&T) Index was announced at the European Parliament in April 2024, and fully launched in September 2024.
It benchmarks business tax conduct in five areas:
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 TR&T Index 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 TR&T 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 TR&T Index Scorecard Report, you may choose whether or not to publicise your ranking.
CSR Europe are the leading European business network for Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility. With their corporate members, National Partner Organisations and Associated Partners, they unite and support over 10,000 enterprises at local, European and global level.
The Fair Tax Foundation were launched in 2014 and are a not-for-profit social enetrprise. They operate the Fair Tax Mark accreditation scheme, the gold standard of responsibile tax conduct for organisations globally. Some 250 distinct trading businesses are currently Fair Tax Mark accredited.
