Influence of Corporate SDG Disclosures and Implications upon International Taxation

Human activities upset environmental equilibrium, hence sustainable development is essential to mitigate these effects. This study explores how a country's development level affects Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) company disclosures, focusing on foreign taxation. According to Hypothesis 1a, national development boosts corporate disclosure of SDG information. However, Hypothesis 1b demonstrates a negative relationship between national development levels and company SDG disclosures. Member States which are signatories to the SDGs ought to accentuate the practices which are not only sustainable but which also envisaged the integration of sustainability information into corporate reporting cycles, especially large and multinational ones, according to SDG objective 12.6.¹⁷ Firms in nations with strong legal systems may employ more legal institutions to assure compliance, while those with weaker systems may rely more on external assurance. By allowing deductions against CSR expenditures could invoke an impetus towards the strategic alignment towards International Taxation Laws by Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) while demonstrating a heightened degree of transparency which would qualify as industry best practices in declaring the CSR expenditures incurred as a function of the tax avoidance endeavor by the MNE. This kind of amalgamation of transparent practices in the realm of seeking tax deductions for an MNE’s CSR expenditure could also minimize conflicts of perception before proponents who interchangeably refer to Tax Evasion. It could be estimated that global CSR laws could be harmoniously constructed vis-à-vis local taxation laws in their interpretation by MNEs if encouraged by the governments of the host country.