Our approach to tax Our governance Our engagement We are aware that tax is a complex area and we understand the Barclays believes that it is important to be transparent in the disclosure importance of having strong governance in place in relation to our tax of our tax affairs. This report contributes to that transparency, as do affairs. We have a set of documented standards and procedures that our Annual Report and other publications. must be adhered to by all employees. Barclays engages with governments, non-governmental These are kept under continuous review and are revised in light of organisations and industry groups, through public consultations and factors such as material changes to our business. Our Board oversees other discussions, as part of our commitment to assisting with the tax matters and tax risk and carries this out through Board level development of tax policy and the improvement of tax systems, and committees. our commitment to maintain transparency with these stakeholders. The formal procedures around governance of tax matters are consistent Our view on tax evasion with the broader framework for risk management that operates across the wider Barclays Group. The procedures in place ensure that all Tax evasion is a criminal activity which involves deliberately concealing significanttaxrelateddecisionsaresubjecttoreviewandapprovalby income or assets from tax authorities. Barclays does not engage in tax appropriatelyqualifiedandexperiencedpeople. evasion and does not provide services with the aim of facilitating tax evasionbythirdparties.Asafinancialinstitutionwerecognisethatour Tax Approvals Board – normal banking services could potentially be used by third parties in the department – committees – oversees tax course of their own tax evasion. manages ensure that tax is matters and To address this we have worked alongside governments and Barclays’ fully taken into tax risk international organisations, such as the Organisation for Economic tax affairs account when Cooperation and Development (OECD), to develop and implement making business strong but practical rules which support their efforts to tackle tax decisions evasion and ensure that tax authorities have timely and automatic accesstorelevantinformationheldbyfinancialinstitutions.Wehave investedsignificantlyinoursystemsandprocessestosupportthe objectives of governments in addressing tax evasion, and will continue to develop our approach in this area. Changing face of global tax Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Public interest in the integrity of tax regimes globally has increased over recent years. This has in turn led to initiatives such as the OECD’s BEPS project. Tax regimes in many countries are undergoing a period of review in response to the recommendations of the BEPS project. The UK government has been at the forefront of this and is introducing a number of changes into UK tax law. One of the aims of the BEPS project is to ensure that the international tax system operates to tax profits where relevant economic activity takes place. This is consistent with our approach so we do not expect any changes to the countries in which our profits are taxed as a result. We support the aims of BEPS which encourages tax regimes to develop in ways that make the global tax system fairer and more transparent. Common Reporting Standard (CRS) The CRS has been developed by the OECD as a global reporting standard which requires financial institutions to collect information relating to their customers and to provide this to tax authorities. Tax authorities share this information with one another. We support the aim of the CRS, which is to allow tax authorities to obtain a clearer understanding of where financial assets are held and where income is earned.  BarclaysPLCCountrySnapshot2016 • 09