Aegon is firmly committed to making a valuable economic and social contribution to the communities in which we operate, both through our own tax payments and through collection and payments of third-party taxes.
We seek to pay 'fair taxes', which for us means paying the right amounts of tax in the right places. It is our policy to allocate profits where value is created through our commercial business activities.
Global tax policy
Following discussion with our stakeholders, we have published our Global Tax Policy online since 2016. Outlining Aegon's approach to responsible tax, the policy seeks to align the long-term interests of our:
- Customers;
- Employees;
- Business partners;
- Investors;
- and wider society.
Download the Global tax policy
Fair taxes
Our commitment to fair taxes means we allocate profits where value is created through our commercial business activities. Tax follows business - our decisions are taken for business reasons and not for tax advantages.
Taxes borne are a cost of business and affect our financial results. Taxes collected are not a direct cost of business but are collected on behalf of governments from others.
Aegon has published its Global Tax Report 2021 to provide a comprehensive overview of the Company’s approach to tax and its tax contributions on a country-by-country basis.
Download the Global Tax Report 2021
Working together
We strive to work together with tax authorities in our markets in a constructive and transparent manner. Our Horizontal Monitoring Agreement with the Dutch tax authorities shows our commitment to this principle. This includes public discussion and disclosure of policies and principles, as well as the overall governance and oversight of our tax position.
We also hold regular meetings with relevant non-governmental organizations to discuss our tax strategy and policy.
Tax technology
Aegon Global Tax focusses on Tax Technology in setting its strategic targets. We believe that technology could be an effective means of achieving process efficiency and automated control. In the Netherlands, a tax data management system in combination with automated tax reporting is in the process of being built. We strive for this technology to make tax reporting and compliance, such as preparation of Dutch corporate income tax and value added tax returns, more automated.