IESBA launches first global ethics standards on tax planning
In April 2024, the IESBA announced the launch of the first comprehensive suite of global standards on ethical considerations in tax planning and related services, incorporated in the IESBA Code of Ethics. The standards establish a clear framework of expected behaviors and ethics provisions for use by all professional accountants, and respond to public interest concerns about tax avoidance and the role played by consultants in light of revelations in recent years such as the Paradise and Pandora Papers.
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About the New Tax Planning and Related Services Standards
Moving away from a purely mechanical and legalistic approach, the goal of the standards is to provide a principles-based framework and a global ethical benchmark applicable to tax planning services and activities. This will establish a consistent point of reference for all professional accountants, as well as other tax professionals who are strongly encouraged to use the standards, when dealing with tax planning, to ensure due consideration of public interest as well as potential reputational, commercial, and wider economic consequences for their clients or employing organizations.
These standards are especially relevant in the context of rising public scrutiny of tax avoidance schemes which can harm companies’ credibility and corporate reputation, as well as risking litigation and harming the public interest. Responding to increased public interest concerns, the fundamental goal of these standards is to ensure an ethical, credible basis for advising on tax planning arrangements, thereby restoring public and institutional trust on a topic that is core to the social contract between corporations and the market which supports them.
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Learn more about the standards
- Will strengthen the ethical framework that guides professional accountants providing tax planning services; other providers strongly encouraged to follow the standards
- Comprehensive framework includes a new requirement and guidance on due consideration of reputational, commercial, and wider economic consequences in their tax advice
- Aims to restore public trust on a core topic to the social contract between corporations and the market which supports them
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"Professional accountants have an important duty to their clients but must not lose sight of their fundamental duty to the public interest. As scandals in recent years have shown, though some behaviors may be legal under the letter of the law in certain jurisdictions, the ‘grey area’ of tax is not always the ethical way forward. These standards provide a robust framework to help professional accountants, as well as all other tax advisers whom we strongly encourage to adopt or use the standards, navigate the ethical decisions in this complex area that are central to trust in the entire system.”
Gabriela Figueiredo Dias, IESBA Chair
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Webinars and Partner Events
In May 2024, the IESBA held two interactive global webinars to present an overview of the first global ethics standards on tax planning. To watch the webinar download the presentation, click here.
These standards establish a comprehensive ethical framework to guide professional accountants when providing tax planning and related services. The framework stipulates the expected mindset and behaviors of professional accountants when they recommend or otherwise advise on tax planning arrangements to employing organizations or clients. The standards were developed in response to public interest concerns about tax avoidance and the role played by consultants in light of revelations in recent years such as the Paradise and Pandora Papers.