The Guardian: Tax avoidance 'not a legal duty'
September 10th, 2013
When accused of abusive tax avoidance, the first words out of a mouth of a large-company CEO are usually, “We have a fiduciary responsibility to our shareholders to avoid taxes.” According to a new opinion from Farrer & Co, a major law firm in the UK, that may not be the case.
The opinion, which applies only to the United Kingdom, states, “It is not possible to construe a director’s statutory obligation to promote the success of the company as a positive duty to avoid tax.” FTC Coordinating Committee member Tax Justice Network will be sending a letter to each FTSE-100 Index CEO containing the document.