Midcounties builds on Fair Tax Mark rating

Midcounties Co-operative has become the first organisation to be re-accredited with the Fair Tax Mark for transparency about its tax affairs.

The society was one of the first firms to sign up to the mark, which certifies that a business is making a genuine effort to be open and transparent about its tax affairs and pays the right amount of corporation tax at the right time and in the right place.

More clarity over its revised tax policy ensured that the co-operative increased its rating from 16 to 17 out of 20.

Chief executive Ben Reid said: “The Institute for Business Ethics recently found that tax avoidance is now the number one concern of the public when it comes to business conduct. As a values-led and ethical organisation, we believe that we should pay the taxes that are due and not engage in aggressive tax avoidance schemes, even if legal.”

In 2013, Midcounties developed a tax charter, which stated that, as far as is reasonable, the society’s preference is to make its tax affairs as simple as possible.

Last year, the charter was revised to make explicit a commitment not to establish operations in other jurisdictions for the purpose of evading or avoiding the tax laws of the UK.