RESOURCE: All but three of the firms in Fig. 1 prepare some kind of social responsibility reporting or present other issue-specific CSR dimensions on their websites. Of the firms that provide social responsibility reporting, approximately 60% of them present this reporting in accordance with the GRI. Of the 40% of firms who do not perform their social responsibility reporting in accordance with GRI, only one firm (ExxonMo- bil) mentions corporate tax policy in its report. ExxonMobil refers to taxes in its social responsibility report in relation to revenue-neutral carbon taxes and also when discussing its political advocacy for tax policies that encourage competition in the global energy market. Thus, their reporting is less from the standpoint of accountability and more from

the standpoint of mobilizing tax strategy to the benefit of shareholders.

Even for GRI reporting firms, despite the GRIs acknowl- edgement of firms tax activities as a potentially material social responsibility, only half of the firms reporting under GRI mention tax policy in their corporate social reports. Where tax policy is mentioned, it is discussed in a limited fashion with firms simply reporting the amount of taxes paid worldwide (UPS) in their CSR reports. Similar to ExxonMo- bil, tax policy also might be discussed in a way that is less indicative of accountability for corporate tax policy choices and more indicative of the tax benefits resulting from select activities. For example, firms discuss tax in relation to: carbon tax credits and environmental activities (3 M); tax-free savings accounts offered to employees (FedEx, Visa); investments in low-income communities that produce affordable housing tax credits (American Express); local and state tax rebate programs available for solar energy generation (Home Depot); and sales tax benefits (Walmart).

We found only one firm that acknowledged the relation- ship between reputation and tax policy. UPSs 2016 Corporate Sustainability Report: The Road Ahead contains the following:

UPSs fundamental tax policy is to ensure the tax results for all our global entities are properly reported in accordance with applicable laws, rules, and regulations. We operate our business where our customers are located, so while tax management is important to the company, how and where we conduct business activities aligns with our goal of providing superior customer service and shareholder value. We consider UPSs reputation, brand, and corporate responsibility when we evaluate our tax positions. Accordingly, we enter only into structures or transactions designed to further our commercial purpose (UPS 2016).

Accepting that tax is a CSR issue, we might expect a relationship between a firms corporate tax behaviors and corporate reputation. Indeed, Elbra and Mikler (2017) argue that paying a fair share is becoming a significant factor in determining a corporations reputation. Yet, when considering Fig. 1, there seems little coherence regarding which firms exhibit certain types of corporate tax behavior through higher/lower tax rates, as well as a disconnect between a firms tax behavior and corporate reputation. We illustrate this in the sections which follow.

QUESTION: How do tax disclosures play into CSR? And what does that mean for firms and shareholders?