Mjuk reglering är en icke-bindande uppsättning regler som har blivit socialt accepterad som bindande. Den har blivit vanligare med åren, med frivillig standard som ett exempel. Det ses som ett effektivt verktyg för att skapa multinationell reglering. Det finns dock en del kritik mot mjuk reglering för att vara ineffektiv och att företag endast använder den för att få legitimitet. Hållbarhetsredovisningen styrs delvis av mjuk reglering. År 2021 infördes en ny frivillig standard, GRI 207 Tax 2019. Standarden reglerar transparent redovisning av skatt. På grund av den kritik som finns mot frivilliga standarder och mjuka regleringar är syftet med denna studie att studera effekterna av införandet av en ny frivillig standard. Detta har gjorts genom en studie av hur storbanker kommunicerar sina skatteangelägenheter före och efter införandet av GRI 207 Tax 2019. Studien har genomförts genom data som samlats in från fyra av storbankernas års- och hållbarhetsredovisningar i Sverige. Legitimitetsteorin och den institutionella teorin har använts för att analysera resultatet av studien. Resultatet visar att storbankerna har olika syn på hur de ska presentera sina skatteärenden. SEB och Swedbank valde att följa standarden medan Nordea bara följer en del av GRI 207 och Handelsbanken inte följer GRI 207. Detta resulterade i högre poäng för SEB och Swedbank än Handelsbanken och Nordea men inte i bättre kvalitet på rapportering. Dessutom fann studien att det varierar hur mycket information storbankerna rapporterar om sina skatteärenden. Studien drar slutsatsen att GRI 207 inte har påverkat kvaliteten på skatterapporteringen. Ytterligare frågor som väckts i studiens slutsatser är: Följs frivilliga standarder till störst del för att uppnå legitimitet? Är tax washing ett nytt kommande fenomen? / Soft regulation is a non-binding set of rules that has become socially accepted as binding. It has become more common over the years, voluntary standard is an example of soft regulation. It is seen as an effective tool to create multinational regulation. Though, it exists some criticism towards soft regulation for being non-effective and that companies only use it to gain legitimacy. Sustainability reporting is partly governed by soft regulation. Year 2021 a new voluntary standard was introduced, GRI 207 Tax 2019. The standard regulates transparent accounting of tax. Due to the existing criticism towards voluntary standards and soft regulation the purpose of this study is to study the effects of the introduction of a new voluntary standard. This have been done through a study of how major banks communicate their tax affairs before and after the introduction of GRI 207 Tax 2019. The study was conducted through data collected from four of the major banks annual and sustainability reports in Sweden. Legitimacy theory and the institutional theory has been applied to help analyse the result of the study. The result shows that the major banks have a different approach on how to present their tax affairs. SEB and Swedbank decided to follow the standard while Nordea only follow a part of GRI 207 and Handelsbanken does not follow GRI 207. This resulted in higher scores for SEB and Swedbank than Handelsbanken and Nordea but not an increase in quality. Furthermore, the study found that it various how much information the major banks report about their tax affairs. The study concludes that GRI 207 hasn’t influenced the quality of tax reporting. In the conclusion further questions are raised: Are voluntary standards largely followed to achieve legitimacy? Is tax washing a new upcoming phenomenon?

Title: There’s not much downside to being rich, other than paying taxes!  Authors: Ida Johansson, Tova Lindbäck & Elisabeth Lydahl Institution: School of Business and Economics at Linnaeus University Kalmar Program: Business Administration and Economics Programme, specialization in Accounting and Management Control Advisor/examiner: Petter Boye Co-examiner: Xiang Yu Background: Recent years, the demand for tax transparency has significantly increased. Several media scandals have exposed the existence of aggressive tax planning, which has affected society’s view on how tax contributes to a sustainable world. In line with the demand GRI formed their standard GRI 207: Tax 2019. Initially, tax transparency aimed to eliminate aggressive tax planning. Today, tax is also regarded as a contribution to society.  Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explain how GRI 207: Tax 2019 has contributed, and will contribute, to changing the view of tax as a sustainability issue. Further, we aim to explain which factors that may contribute to forced tax transparency in sustainability reporting in the future.  Method: An abductive and qualitative approach in order to create a deeper understanding of tax as a sustainability issue. The data has been collected through semi-structured interviews with tax experts and representatives of businesses who practise or had the intention to practice GRI 207: Tax 2019.  Conclusions: We have found that GRI 207: Tax 2019 has changed the view of tax as a sustainability issue, due to their quality mark and being a leading global actor. We believe several standards will exist in the future, but it’s tax transparency as a whole that will be requested rather than a specific standard. Investors and the media are the factors which will contribute to a forced tax transparency in the future. Finally, we have identified four issues, where a legal requirement is the key.