Tax transparency
Our tax strategy is designed to support Shell in delivering our Powering Progress strategy through our commitment to transparency, compliance and open dialogue with our stakeholders, from governments to civil society. Our strategy and actions reflect our values and principles.
Tax revenues enable governments to pay for public services, such as education, health care and transport. In 2021, Shell paid $58.7 billion to governments. We paid $6.0 billion in corporate income taxes and $6.6 billion in government royalties, and collected $46.1 billion in excise duties, sales taxes and similar levies on our fuel and other products on behalf of governments.
We also made other payments to governments, including $10.5 billion in production entitlements, $2.1 billion in fees and $149 million in bonuses.
Shell publishes a Tax Contribution Report annually which sets out the corporate income tax that Shell companies paid in countries and locations where they have a taxable presence. Our latest Tax Contribution Report includes, for the first time, a breakdown of our total tax contribution in five countries where we have key business activities. These countries are: India, the Netherlands, Nigeria, the UK, and the USA. This breakdown includes the taxes we pay as an employer, such as social security payments, and the taxes we collect from our employees on behalf of governments.
We regularly engage with policymakers to support the development of tax rules and regulations based on sound tax policy principles. In this way, we hope to contribute to the development of fair, effective and stable tax systems. We also provide constructive input to industry groups and international organisations, such as the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), the B Team Responsible Tax Working Group (B Team) and the international business network Business at OECD.
Read more about our approach to tax at www.shell.com/sustainability/transparency-and-sustainability-reporting/shells-approach-to-tax. Read our latest Tax Contribution Report at reports.shell.com/tax-contribution-report/2020/ and our Payments to Governments report at www.shell.com/payments.
