Speaking late last month, U.S. President Joe Biden threatened to pursue higher taxes on oil company profits if industry giants do not work to cut gas prices.
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Oxfam on Monday filed shareholder resolutions against U.S. oil giants Exxon Mobil, Chevron and ConocoPhillips, saying a lack of transparency over their global tax practices poses a material risk for long-term investors.
The international relief charity said the companies’ tax practices undermine the public’s interest in a fair tax system — especially in Global South countries “with the greatest tax revenue needs.”
“Exxon, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips’s threadbare tax disclosures leave investors, watchdog groups, and the general public in the dark about the companies’ secretive tax practices,” Daniel Mulé, policy lead on extractive industries and tax at Oxfam America, said in a statement.
Chevron, Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips were not immediately available to comment when contacted by CNBC.
It comes amid a broader push for greater tax transparency from large corporations, particularly as people around the world feel the squeeze of a cost-of-living crisis.
Oil majors have been repeatedly criticized for their global tax operations. And, in recent months, energy giants have faced growing calls for a windfall tax after raking in record-breaking profits thanks to a surge in the price of oil and gas following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
If oil and gas projects are alleviating poverty, why hide the numbers?
Daniel Mulé
Policy lead on extractive industries and tax at Oxfam America
Speaking late last month, U.S. President Joe Biden threatened to pursue higher taxes on oil company profits if industry giants do not work to cut gas prices, accusing energy giants of “war profiteering.”
“Oil companies’ record profits today are not because they’re doing something new or innovative,” Biden said on Oct. 31. “Their profits are a windfall of war — the windfall from the brutal conflict that’s ravaging Ukraine and hurting tens of millions of people around the globe.”
Together, Exxon Mobil, Chevron and ConocoPhillips reported third-quarter profits in excess of $35 billion.
“Oil and gas companies frequently point to their contributions to the tax base in producer countries as a justification for their continued operations, particularly in poor countries, but secretive tax practices make it impossible to verify whether the companies actually contribute to shared prosperity,” Oxfam America’s Mulé said.
“If oil and gas projects are alleviating poverty, why hide the numbers?” he added.
‘Let the sunlight in’
Oxfam said the tax practices of Exxon Mobil, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips create a risk for investors who want to safeguard against potential reputational damage and the possibility of “shelling out millions due to lawsuits, blocked projects, and renegotiation of fiscal terms.”
To rectify this, Oxfam called on the companies to publish reports detailing their tax practices in line with the tax…
Read More: Exxon Mobil, Chevron and ConocoPhillips challenged over tax practices