U.S. oil giants Exxon Mobil, Chevron and ConocoPhillips challenged over ‘secretive’ tax practices

Oxfam connected Monday filed shareholder resolutions against U.S. lipid giants Exxon Mobil, Chevron and ConocoPhillips, saying a deficiency of transparency implicit their planetary taxation practices poses a worldly hazard for semipermanent investors.

The planetary alleviation foundation said the companies' taxation practices undermine the public's involvement successful a just taxation strategy — particularly successful Global South countries "with the top taxation gross needs."

"Exxon, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips's threadbare taxation disclosures permission investors, watchdog groups, and the wide nationalist successful the acheronian astir the companies' secretive taxation practices," Daniel Mulé, argumentation pb connected extractive industries and taxation astatine Oxfam America, said successful a statement.

Chevron, Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips were not instantly disposable to remark erstwhile contacted by CNBC.

It comes amid a broader propulsion for greater taxation transparency from ample corporations, peculiarly arsenic radical astir the satellite consciousness the compression of a cost-of-living crisis.

Oil majors person been repeatedly criticized for their planetary taxation operations. And, successful caller months, vigor giants person faced increasing calls for a windfall taxation aft raking successful record-breaking profits acknowledgment to a surge successful the terms of lipid and state pursuing Russia's penetration of Ukraine.

Speaking precocious past month, U.S. President Joe Biden threatened to prosecute higher taxes connected lipid institution profits if manufacture giants bash not enactment to chopped state prices, accusing vigor giants of "war profiteering."

"Oil companies' grounds profits contiguous are not due to the fact that they're doing thing caller oregon innovative," Biden said connected Oct. 31. "Their profits are a windfall of warfare — the windfall from the brutal struggle that's ravaging Ukraine and hurting tens of millions of radical astir the globe."

Together, Exxon Mobil, Chevron and ConocoPhillips reported third-quarter profits successful excess of $35 billion.

"Oil and state companies often constituent to their contributions to the taxation basal successful shaper countries arsenic a justification for their continued operations, peculiarly successful mediocre countries, but secretive taxation practices marque it intolerable to verify whether the companies really lend to shared prosperity," Oxfam America's Mulé said.

"If lipid and state projects are alleviating poverty, wherefore fell the numbers?" helium added.

Oxfam said the taxation practices of Exxon Mobil, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips make a hazard for investors who privation to safeguard against imaginable reputational harm and the anticipation of "shelling retired millions owed to lawsuits, blocked projects, and renegotiation of fiscal terms."

To rectify this, Oxfam called connected the companies to people reports detailing their taxation practices successful enactment with the taxation modular of the Global Reporting Initiative, which includes nationalist country-by-country reporting of financial, taxation and idiosyncratic information.

A study from the Tax Justice Network published earlier this period showed that nationalist country-by-country reporting could trim taxation gross losses owed to cross-border nett shifting by astatine slightest $89 billion.

Oxfam says the lipid and state assemblage is recognized arsenic a peculiarly high-risk assemblage for firm taxation avoidance — and reaffirms the constituent that the burning of fossil fuels is the main operator of the clime emergency.

"US extractive companies Hess and Newmont people GRI-aligned taxation reports, arsenic bash planetary lipid companies including Shell, BP, and Total," said Ian Gary, manager of the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency Coalition, an planetary transparency advocacy group.

"Exxon, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips are earnestly lagging down their peers," Gary said.

The resolutions were expected to beryllium enactment to shareholders astatine Exxon Mobil, Chevron and ConocoPhillips astatine their yearly wide meetings successful May adjacent year.

"Shareholders request a afloat knowing of imaginable risks," said Jason Ward, main expert astatine the Centre for International Corporate Tax Accountability and Research.

"Corporations should respect shareholders and pb the mode to fto the sunlight in," helium added.