The following is part of our annual publication Selected Issues for Boards of Directors in 2025. Explore all topics or download the PDF.
2025 begins with a continuation of the major tax trends emerging in the post‑Covid era: more aggressive audits by tax authorities in search of additional revenue, increased international cooperation between tax authorities, the end of transitional concessions to assist businesses through the pandemic, and a developing role for tax in shaping ESG policies and behaviors.
These trends have emerged in an increasingly complex technical tax environment characterized by an accumulation of new rules and the layering of international tax regimes (such as the OECD’s global minimum taxation rules) on top of domestic tax regimes. At the same time, regulators are demanding enhanced transparency, tax authorities are mining data with smarter and faster AI tools and governments are getting more efficient at sharing information across borders. Against this background, the management of modern tax risks has become a cornerstone of sound corporate responsibility.