Sapphire Group Tax Strategy

The Group’s tax strategy reflects its position as a business which requires a robust attitude to governance and a wider consideration of our reputation within the market. Given the nature of our business, it is imperative that we operate in an environment that requires strict compliance with the various tax laws that are applicable to our clients, as well as ourselves.

In order to achieve this, we:

• Give due care and attention to the management of the processes and procedures by which all tax related activities are undertaken, and ensure that our tax governance procedures are appropriate.
• Assess the ‘spirit’ of enacted legislation, as well as the legal form, and only seek to use legitimate incentives and reliefs in the management of our tax affairs.
• Proactively maintain an open and honest relationship with HMRC and other relevant tax authorities.

The Board of Directors delegates the day-to-day management of the Group’s tax affairs to the Head of Internal Finance and the Group’s Tax Director. The appointment of a specific Tax Director for the Group demonstrates its commitment to maintaining a compliant tax environment. These individuals work in partnership to ensure that the Group’s policies are adhered to in relation to all its tax affairs.

There is an agreed process to ensure that all decisions pertaining to the Group’s tax affairs are taken at the appropriate level.

The Group takes a risk averse attitude towards tax planning and takes its compliance obligations extremely seriously. The Group never engages in artificial transactions where the main, or one of the main purposes of the transaction is the avoidance of tax.

As an employee-owned business, the Group does not wish to engage in tax planning arrangements that put the reputation of our business at risk. We wish to maintain an excellent working relationship with HMRC and do not wish to jeopardise that.

These are not just words. The results for the Group’s last two accounting periods show effective tax rates slightly in excess of the statutory rate.

We consistently monitor our UK tax risk and seek to mitigate risk by:

• Submitting all tax returns and filings on a timely basis.
• Providing HMRC with sufficient disclosure in respect of those submissions to allow HMRC to make a proper assessment of our affairs.
• Pay the right amount of tax at the right time.
• Maintaining robust internal processes to allow for accurate tax reporting within our financial statements.
• Ensuring tax is high on the agenda for all individuals within the organization, not just the senior leadership group.
• Engaging third parties where appropriate.