Why Unity Trust Bank is supporting Fair Tax Week 2024
Unity Trust Bank is a commercial bank with a social conscience, and our values ensure we act in a way that helps to create a better society - for customers, staff, stakeholders and communities, writes Penny Hogan.
As we celebrate our 40th birthday this year, we’re proud of our strong heritage of delivering social good as well as our sharp focus on creating positive impact in the future.
This year also marks a decade since Unity became the first UK bank to receive the Fair Tax Mark, which is considered the gold-standard of responsible tax conduct. As a long-standing advocate of fair and transparent tax practices, I am proud that we have consistently retained this important accreditation, and believe other organisations should be empowered to get the Fair Tax Mark too.
Fair Tax Week
9 – 16 June marks Fair Tax Week 2024, a UK-wide recognition of the businesses and organisations that are proud to promote responsible tax conduct and financial transparency, and a celebration of the positive contribution this makes to society.
From education, health and social care, to roads, policing and defence, corporation tax helps to fund a wide variety of vital public services. It also plays a crucial role in the wider tax system, helping to counter financial inequalities and rebalance distorted economies.
The Fair Tax Mark recognises businesses that ‘pay the right amount of corporation tax at the right time and in the right place’. Among many reasons why this accreditation is important, it demonstrates a credible ESG strategy, resonates positively with customers and employees, and shows investors that they are managing tax-related risks well.
As an ethical and responsible bank, fairness and transparency is a key part of our overarching social mission. Unity’s ambition to help create a better society strongly aligns with my own personal values and I’ve been proud to spearhead the bank’s ongoing commitment to the Fair Tax Mark scheme.
This includes our sponsorship of a major report for Fair Tax Week 2023, which collated seven years of polling data and provided important insights into UK public opinion on trust, tax disclosures and procurement.
Key findings from the report include:
- Consistently high public support for responsible tax conduct and financial transparency
- 72% of the public would ‘rather work for a business which can provide that it’s paying its fair share of tax’
- 62% of the public would ‘trust a business with the Fair Tax Mark more than one without it’
In line with Unity’s mission to deliver positive social, economic and environmental benefit to communities across the UK, it’s so important that we continue to highlight the positive contribution that proper tax conduct can make to wider society. This is a fundamental facet of our commitment to ethical finance and we look forward to continuing our support of Fair Tax Week - for the next decade and beyond.
How you can get involved:
Fair Tax Week 2024 will be hosting a schedule of events and webinars to discuss key topics and issues around corporate tax. To see the full schedule, visit the Fair Tax Foundation website or follow their social channels for updates.
Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, Unity recently received the King’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development 2024 and was named in The Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2024. Unity has a Gold standard for Investors in People, is a Real Living Wage and Disability Confident Employer, and a signatory of the Women in Finance Charter.
For more information, visit www.unity.co.uk.
Penny Hogan is chief financial officer at ethical bank, Unity Trust Bank, headquartered in Birmingham
