About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

94 B.U. L. Rev. 337 (2014)
Fairer Shores: Tax Havens, Tax Avoidance, and Corporate Social Responsibility

handle is hein.journals/bulr94 and id is 343 raw text is: FAIRER SHORES: TAX HAVENS, TAX AVOIDANCE, AND CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Jasmine M Fisher* IN TROD UCTION ............................................................................................... 338 I. TAx AVOIDANCE AND TAX HAVENS ................................................... 339 A. What Is Tax Avoidance (Versus Tax Evasion) ............................. 339 B. The Particular Problems Posed by Tax Havens .......................... 342 C. Factors Motivating MNCs to Avoid Taxes .................................. 346 II. HOW THE CSR DOCTRINE CAN HELP .................................................. 349 A . W hat Is C SR ? ............................................................................... 350 B. Why Is Tax Avoidance a CSR Issue? ........................................... 352 III. How TAX AVOIDANCE AND ESPECIALLY TAX HAVENS HARMS CORPORATIONS AND THEIR SHAREHOLDERS ...................................... 354 A. Harms to the Corporation and Its Shareholders ......................... 354 1. Harm to Corporate Reputation .............................................. 354 2. Encouraging Other Subversive Activities by M anagem ent .......................................................................... 355 B. Tax Avoidance Harms National Governments ............................ 356 1. D eveloped N ations ................................................................ 356 2. D eveloping N ations ............................................................... 358 IV. SOLUTIONS FOR INCORPORATING THE ANTIAVOIDANCE DOCTRINE INTO CORPORATE POLICY AND CHANGING CORPORATE TAX A VOIDANCE CULTURE ......................................................................... 359 A . Consum er A ctivism ...................................................................... 360 B . Investor Infl uence ........................................................................ 362 C. Voluntary Corporate Leadership ................................................. 363 C ON CLU SIO N ................................................................................................... 365 Despite the U.S. public's tolerance of and emotional attachment to tax avoidance at the individual level, the tax avoidance practices of modern multinational corporations such as Google, Amazon, Apple, and Starbucks recently have received heavy criticism in the media. This Note argues that the doctrine of corporate social responsibility provides a logical rationale for multinational corporations to adopt antiavoidance practices, in that the harm caused by tax avoidance outweighs any financial benefit that accrues from these practices. Contrary to the views of some corporate leaders, tax avoidance can cause long-term harm to corporations and their shareholders by damaging corporate reputations and branding efforts, and also by diverting * J.D. Candidate, Boston University School of Law, 2014. 337

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most