Saying what we pay

We are excited to announce that we have successfully secured Fair Tax Mark certification, independently recognising our commitment to pay the right amount of corporation tax in the right place, at the right time.

This certification is yet another indication of our comprehensive commitment to ethical business practices. This is extremely important for us, which means that running our business in an ethical, responsible way extends to every facet of what we do and so this certification demonstrates beyond doubt that we pay the fair and proper amount of tax. At Freethought we firmly believe that paying tax is not a financial consideration but a moral one, when we are successful our community should benefit and we are proud to pay our contribution towards the vital public services that we and our clients rely on every day, from our education system and the NHS, to our road and rail infrastructure, police, and fire services.

Paul Monaghan, Chief Executive, Fair Tax Mark, said:

“We are delighted to announce that Freethought Internet has joined the Fair Tax movement, and are proudly saying what they pay. Freethought is the first Lincolnshire head-quartered business to achieve the Fair Tax Mark standard that allows customers, suppliers and staff to clearly see their transparent and responsible approach to tax. It is refreshing to see a digital enterprise fully embracing responsible tax conduct, and we hope more businesses in the region will follow their lead.

It is estimated that annually, due to corporate profits being shifted to tax havens, corporate tax revenue losses in the UK amount to at least £7bn. Just think of the nurses, doctors and teachers we could employ, or the renewable energy infrastructure we could build if that tax was paid as it should be?”

Research by ICM shows that consumers are increasingly concerned about tax avoidance amongst companies. Over three-quarters of people responded that they would rather shop with (77%) or work for (78%) a business that can prove it is paying its fair share of tax. Three quarters (75%) also said that it was important to celebrate businesses who can demonstrate good tax conduct and shun the artificial use of tax havens and contrived tax avoidance practices.

We're really pleased to be awarded this certification from Fair Tax Mark, which perfectly compliments our existing public statements of ethical and environmental practices. This joins our Ethical Consumer ethiscore of 14.5 out of 15, and our carbon positive commitment with our environmental partner Offset Earth that has seen us plant over 6,400 trees in four months and offset over 100 tonnes of CO2.