Taxation: A New Corporate Governance Instrument in France?

Under a legal interpretation of the concept of governance, the tax authorities can be considered as a stakeholder, extending the partnership approach to include an actor rarely taken into consideration. This makes tax and legal questions more important in the company and, consequently, strengthens the links and regular exchanges with the audit committee and/or board of directors, who are now much more involved in these matters than in the past.

This development at least indicates the role the tax authorities would like to play in governance, whereas the notion of ethics in tax behaviour is a complex concept. Such shifts undeniably reposition the State and its tax authorities inside the sphere of business and corporate relations with the various stakeholders. This could result in creation of a genuine ‘tax contract’ in the context of renewed tax regulations.