CCHBC Publishes 4th Tax Transparency Report

Today, and even more in the future, companies must balance the interests of a broader stakeholder base. The impact of businesses on the environment and society are equally important factors driving the preferences of customers and consumers, and in turn, the long-term health of the enterprise. We in CCH strongly believe that sustainability enables value creation for our stakeholders and supports the socio-economic development of the communities in which we operate, and we consider tax as an important part of our ESG leadership. 

Specifically, our company attributes the utmost importance of earning societal trust in all tax matters. We stand firmly behind the principle of continuing paying taxes in the countries where value is created. Thus, ensuring that we are fully compliant not only with the letter of tax laws and regulations across all jurisdictions we operate in, but with the spirit as well. In addition, we commit to being open and transparent with tax authorities about the Group’s tax affairs and to disclose relevant information to enable tax authorities to carry out their reviews effectively, efficiently and without unwarranted delays. We support the communities in the countries where we operate directly by creating economic wealth, and indirectly, by paying our fair share of taxes. 

The economic environment remains challenging, impacted by geopolitical volatility with evident impact on regulation and taxation systems. Following the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic crisis, governments introduce policies to support households and companies including several tax related measures. Following the recovery from COVID-19, the conflict in Ukraine had a significant impact on energy costs, pushing up energy prices impacting significantly previous estimations of growth. Governments reacted to these challenges by providing additional support also on the tax front. Tax systems had to deliver the revenues needed to support public funding and social support in an efficient, effective and most of all, fair manner. In this complex context, tax policy has a role to play in supporting an inclusive, sustainable and digital-friendly recovery.

All these developments highlight the far-reaching implications of the global tax policy shift. As this landscape continues to evolve, businesses must stay informed, proactively engage with relevant stakeholders, and carefully assess the potential impacts on their tax positions, operating models, and overall business strategies. Embracing a proactive and collaborative approach will be crucial for businesses to navigate these changes effectively, mitigate risks and position themselves for long-term success in the post-Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) era. 

At CCH, we aim to be proactive rather than reactive. In that sense, we are closely monitoring relevant developments in the field of taxation, so we address all upcoming requirements in a timely and robust manner. Nevertheless, we believe there is more we can do to increase our transparency and ensure we always act as responsible taxpayers. For this reason, we work in partnership with our tax advisors, statutory auditors, and tax authorities to ensure that the right amount of taxes are paid in the right place at the right time and we endorse best practice initiatives that aim to deliver a fairer and more transparent tax environment.  

The taxes we disclose in this report, include corporate income tax calculated on each country’s taxable profit, payroll taxes and social security contributions, irrecoverable VAT, environmental taxes, product taxes and other categories of taxes including also taxes paid in specific jurisdictions based on local regulations applying. In 2023 we administered a total of EUR 2.1 billion in taxes across all our jurisdictions. Out of that amount, EUR 848 million reflect taxes borne by CCH operations (see the ‘2023 CCH Tax contributions highlights’ section). 

We welcome constructive feedback from our stakeholders, recognising there may be areas where our disclosures can be further improved, and will be happy to address any questions that you may have.