North Media is intensifying its sustainability efforts and ESG reporting this and the next few years, and we welcome the new EU CSDR Directive and the stricter reporting requirements on sustainability that go with it. It is important that companies communicate on sustainability on a comparable basis. It is important that companies communicate on sustainability on a comparable basis.
The Group’s ESG efforts also include tax matters, and as one of only two companies in Denmark North Media has obtained accreditation by the Fair Tax Foundation, an international NGO offering accreditation to companies that pay taxes in those countries where they have activities and pursue an open and transparent tax policy.
‘Integrity’ is a key word – also with respect to North Media’s tax policy. This means that we will always pay our taxes in accordance with the prevailing tax legislation. North Media does not undertake tax planning and does not tolerate any form of tax evasion or aggressive tax planning, and we have now enhanced transparency and reporting in this area,” says Group Chief Financial Officer Kåre Wigh.
Almost DKK 1 billion in taxes over three years
As part of the extended ESG reporting provided in our most recent annual report for 2023, already structured in line with the future CSRD requirements, North Media presented the Group’s tax payments in a country-by-country statement.
According to this statement, North Media contributed DKK 336.3 million in 2023, mainly in Denmark but also in Sweden, of which DKK 142 million was from VAT etc., while the Group’s 399 employees and roughly 10,000 distributors, mainly young people, paid around DKK 116 million in personal income taxes on the wages they earned from working with North Media.
The Group has paid almost DKK 1 billion in direct and indirect taxes in the past three years. The profit accumulated over the same period amounted to DKK 540 million.
Fastest riser of the year according to Tax Governance Rating
The Group’s tax policy and efforts in the tax area have also resulted in a third-best Tax Governance Ranking in the mid-cap segment in ‘Økonomisk Ugebrev’, a Danish weekly online newsletter focusing on finance, management and investment.
“We have set the bar high when it comes to tax transparency and tax reporting, and we have a clear ambition to continue this trend and achieve an even higher ranking next year,” says Kåre Wigh.
The period 9–16 June 2024 is Fair Tax Week with an international spotlight on businesses’ and organisations’ tax payments in news media, on social media and at debate events. This is including the annual Danish democracy festival ‘Folkemødet’ held on the island of Bornholm. Read more at: https://fairtaxmark.net/supporters/fair-tax-week/
It is Fair Tax Week this week, where internationally, the focus is on the tax payments of businesses and organizations. The guiding principle of North Media’s tax policy is integrity, and North Media has become only the second company in Denmark to achieve accreditation from the international NGO Fair Tax Foundation. They accredit companies that pay taxes in the countries where they operate and adhere to an open and transparent tax policy.
