Tax transparency
We believe tax has a role to play in the energy transition and transparent reporting about our tax payments and practices can enable more meaningful engagement with our stakeholders
We believe transparent reporting about our tax payments can enable more meaningful engagement about the energy transition with our stakeholders. We can begin to help them assess the financial resources available and the potential tax implications of a government’s strategic and energy policy decisions related to this transition.
We’re committed to:
- Complying with tax laws in a responsible manner.
- Paying and reporting about our taxes on time.
- Being transparent about our tax principles and the taxes we pay.
- Having open and constructive conversations with stakeholders, including governments and tax authorities.
Our purpose and our code of conduct inform the responsible approach we take to managing our taxes.
Total tax contribution
$41.3bn
Comprises the taxes we paid and collected on our global operations.
(2020: $34.8 billion)
Our tax report 2021
We continue to have conversations with our stakeholders, including communities, investors, civil society organizations, policy makers and global tax experts. And the feedback we receive is helping us improve our disclosures and make sure the information we provide about our tax matters is useful.
In this report, we share our experience and observations of how the tax landscape is evolving, as we transition to a lower carbon economy.
What’s new
In response to stakeholder feedback on our previous tax report we have:
- Provided commentary about current external affairs that impact our tax matters on page 5.
- Included commentary about the impact of the energy transition on our work in 2021 on page 9.
“We are advocating for simple, predictable tax policies that support the energy transition, the countries where we operate and our transformation to an IEC.”
Jan Lyons, SVP, tax
Our responsible tax principles
The B Team has set out seven principles that offer a clear framework for responsible tax practice. We have adopted them all.
See our tax report 2021 for examples of how we are embedding our responsible tax principles.
Tax is a core part of corporate responsibility and governance and is overseen by our board of directors.
We comply with the tax legislation of the countries in which we operate and pay the right amount of tax at the right time, in the countries where we create value.
We will only use business structures that are driven by commercial considerations, are aligned with business activity and which have genuine substance. We do not seek abusive tax results.
Relationships with authorities
We seek, wherever possible, to develop co-operative relationships with tax authorities, based on mutual respect, transparency and trust.
Seeking and accepting tax incentives
Where we claim tax incentives offered by government authorities, we seek to ensure that they are transparent and consistent with statutory or regulatory frameworks.
Supporting effective tax systems
We engage constructively in national and international dialogue with governments, business groups and civil society to support the development of effective tax systems, legislation and administration.
We provide regular information to our stakeholders, including investors, policy makers, employees, civil society and the general public, about our approach to tax and taxes paid.
Our total tax contribution overview
bp’s total tax contribution for 2021 was $41.3 billion. This comprises the taxes we paid and collected on our global operations.
We had operations in 65 countries in 2021. More than 96% of the total taxes we paid and 92% of total taxes we collected arose in our major countries of operation.
Details of our business activities and our total tax contribution in the countries in which we operate can be seen in the clickable map below. Our full country analysis is contained in our tax report 2021.
Our total tax contributions around the world
Country by country report
We publish data from our OECD country by country report, which is focused on corporate taxes and contains financial data for all countries where we have a taxable presence, including our corporate income tax payments.
Although we are not formally required to publish this report, after listening to our stakeholders we believe it can help improve their understanding of our activities, deepen their trust in our approach to tax and make useful information more easily accessible.
