Contributing to the fiscal ecosystem

Everyone has to deal with taxes. Rules tend to change regularly, and the tax system can be perceived as complicated. PwC wants to help improve the system and make it comprehensible, by sharing knowledge about existing laws and regulations, and by sharing ideas about what can be changed or done differently.

Tax Transparency Benchmark

Transparency about taxation is important. It strengthens, among other things, societal trust and responsible business practices. The Dutch Association of Investors for Sustainable Development (VBDO) and PwC have highlighted this theme over the past decade through the ‘Tax Transparency Benchmark.’ For eleven years, this benchmark assessed the transparency of tax reporting by listed companies. Between 2015 and 2024, the percentage of companies publicly sharing their tax strategy rose from 45 percent to 93 percent. The quality of reporting also improved significantly, with better risk analyses, clearer governance structures, and greater attention to stakeholder dialogue.

In 2025, the final edition, the percentage of companies publishing their tax strategy dropped to 89 percent (compared to 93 percent in 2024). This may be because some companies do not consider taxation a material topic, meaning a topic they are required to report on under the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). Therefore, attention to tax transparency remains as important as ever, and we continue to share insights from eleven years of benchmarking.

Research on tax contributions from Dutch businesses

For the second consecutive year, we are publishing the total tax contribution of Dutch businesses around Accountability Day. Until 2023, the exact contribution to the treasury was unclear. We have clarified this because we believe it is important for the public debate on the business climate, including the tax environment, to be grounded in facts and figures. We have presented the report, 'The Total Tax Contribution of Dutch Businesses in 2024', to the Secretary of State for Fiscal Affairs, Tax Administration, and Customs, and discussed it with various stakeholders. 

Research on how working more can actually pay more 

The labor market shortage is large. PwC previously calculated that the gap between supply and demand on the labor market almost disappears if part-time workers work four extra hours per week. It sounds simple, but isn't. Working more and therefore having more income can be quite disappointing in the bottom line. The marginal pressure, the tax rate you pay on your last earned euro including loss of allowances, is high and also not transparent. That is why PwC has devised a different system in which the tax rate is no longer linked to the total annual salary, but to the hourly wage. This means that working more does pay off. The idea has been discussed with members of parliament and other stakeholders and shared with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment via an internet consultation.

Combination of PwC and academic position 

Various partners and employees of PwC combine their position at PwC with an academic position. This means that, in addition to their role at PwC, these employees also work at a university as (endowed) professors, lecturers or researchers, for example.

PwC encourages such a combination of roles, as it allows our partners and employees to contribute to society by sharing their practical experience, knowledge and skills, alongside their work for PwC. This is in line with our ambition of building trust and creating sustainable progress.

Combining an academic career with another professional career in general, and within tax law in particular, is part of social debate. We believe it is important to be transparent about why we are in favor of combining these functions, what guidelines we apply and which individuals are involved.

PwC reactions to consultations European Commission

The world of taxation is continuously changing. For example, in recent years, this involved taxes on the digital economy, the exchange of taxpayer information between countries, and the definition of ecologically sustainable investments (EU Taxonomy). These developments are partly being shaped by the European Commission by modifying existing guidelines or developing new guidelines. PwC has responded to various consultations by the European Commission.

Fiscal strategy and code of conduct PwC Netherlands

PwC advises clients about taxation and uses the ‘Tax Transparency Benchmark’ to assess the fiscal transparency of companies. Naturally, we are also open in this regard. That is why we have published our tax strategy and tax code of conduct. This allows us to give our advisers a foothold.