ABS-CBN Corporation - UK Tax Strategy
31 December 2018
Company Introduction
ABS-CBN Corporation (ABS-CBN) is the Philippines’ leading media and entertainment organization. The Company is primarily involved in content creation and production for various media including television, online and over-the-top platforms, cable, satellite, cinema, live events and radio for domestic and international markets. ABS-CBN also operates various platforms including domestic television and radio networks and worldwide OTT and online platforms. ABSCBN also has interests in cable, satellite and broadband systems in the Philippines.
In addition, ABS-CBN has business interests in music and music publishing, consumer products and licensing, multimedia services, magazine and book publishing, production and post-production services, telecommunication services, money remittance, cargo forwarding, TV shopping services, theme park development and management, property management and food and restaurant services. These complement and enhance the Company’s strength in content production and distribution.
In achieving our corporate vision of being in the service of Filipinos worldwide, our core values of honesty, integrity and respect, guide us through the journey.
Corporate Responsibility
We understand that we have a corporate responsibility to pay the appropriate amount of taxes, and we aim to be fully compliant with the law in all jurisdictions in which we operate.
We comply with tax law and practice in the countries where we operate, and all group companies transact on an arm’s length basis. Compliance for us means paying taxes correctly and being transparent with tax authorities on the company activities and in claiming reliefs and incentives in accordance with their defined purpose.
Compliance Statement/Companies Covered
We (the ABS-CBN Group) regard the publication of this tax strategy as complying with our duty under Section 19(2) of Schedule 19 Finance Act 2016 for the current financial year. As the head company of the UK sub-group, we confirm that this strategy will apply to the following UK companies:
• ABS-CBN Europe Ltd
• ABS-CBN Europe Remittance Ltd
Tax Compliance Strategy/Governance
We are committed to complying with UK tax obligations and our overall tax strategy is to:
Meet all legal requirements and ensure compliance, which for us means paying all of our taxes due within specified deadlines, completing accurate returns whilst also recognising available legislative concessions and reliefs.
Operate in an environment where we consider tax in the context of our reputation and brand.
Comply with appropriate tax risk processes and ensure there is Board oversight into this compliance.
We keep under review how we meet our tax obligations, by seeking external tax advice, and also how we manage our relationship with tax authorities.
Attitude towards risk
Our operational team which delivers our UK operations are supported by our global finance/tax/risk teams through a strong corporate governance framework and any transactional activities and/or compliance filing obligations are managed in conjunction with our professional advisors. We seek advice in relation to structuring our global (and hence UK activities).
We have a low appetite for tax risk, and because of our centralised support model our head office teams have clear oversight of our UK operations and any resulting tax risks which enables their effective management in conjunction with our advisors.
Attitude towards tax planning
ABS-CBN Corporation approaches tax in a way that is aligned with our business strategy and that aims at reducing business complexity and cost.
When considering the structure of our commercial activities, we take account of a number of factors including consideration of the tax laws of the countries in which we operate. We strive to work within both the letter and spirit of local laws.
Tax Compliance and Relationship with Tax Authorities
We use professional advisors to help us understand our compliance requirements and support our interactions with tax authorities to ensure that those interactions are supportive of our tax strategy objectives.
We seek to comply with our tax filing, tax reporting and tax payment obligations globally. We look to maintain open and transparent relationships with the tax authorities in the key jurisdictions in which we operate. This may take the form of discussing key developments in our business and the potential impacts of those developments. Equally, it may involve disclosing and seeking to resolve a known issue prior to the filing of the relevant tax return.