A long-standing feature of the mainstream news cycle, tax avoidance, and in particular corporate tax avoidance, has been a persistent irritant for the government, as the relevations in the Paradise Papers attest. Hitherto, censure before parliamentary committees, international co-ordination in the form of the OECD’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) and new deterrents such as the diverted profits tax have made up the bulk of the arsenal against it. Now, large companies are required to publicly state their position on taxation.

The rules apply to companies, partnerships, groups or sub-groups which, in their previous tax year, had either a turnover above £200m or a balance sheet over £2bn. Around 2,000 organisations come into these categories.