Tax Payments

Tax responsibilities and payments

Tax responsibilities

We adopt the following approach in relation to our tax responsibilities:

We are committed to the responsible management of our tax affairs.
We take a compliant approach and seek to pay the right amount of tax in the jurisdictions in which we operate, complete and submit accurate tax returns and pay tax due within the timeframes set by legislation.
We do not establish businesses in any jurisdiction with the sole or main purpose of gaining a tax advantage or to divert profits from higher tax rate jurisdictions and we operate policies to ensure that there is no artificial diversion of profits between high and low tax countries.
We are committed to maintaining and improving tax transparency and comply with global initiatives in this regard.
We are open in our interaction with tax authorities. In the UK we have signed up to the UK Government’s Code of Practice on Taxation for Banks (‘the Code of Practice’) which commits us to obeying the spirit, as well as the letter of the law, and to maintaining an honest and open dialogue with HM Revenue & Customs. All parts of the Bank worldwide are expected to follow the Code of Practice.
Group Tax approval of new products, transactions or business proposals is required through the group’s risk governed sign-off processes. Our tax specialists ensure that we comply with tax law and practice, that transactions and business proposals are within tax risk appetite, and that we consult with HM Revenue & Customs and/or external advisors where necessary.
We will only undertake tax planning which supports genuine commercial activity and is compliant with the Code of Practice.
We have a low appetite for tax risk.
We have zero tolerance for any activity relating to the criminal offence of tax evasion and we are committed to preventing the facilitation of tax evasion. Refer to our Anti-Tax Evasion Statement for further information.