Tax policy

Ambu develops, manufactures and sells medical devices to hospitals and health care professionals around the world. In the conduct of our business we strive to meet the standard of being a good corporate citizen in all countries where we operate.

In short, Ambu will always:

• Follow national and international tax laws as well as the OECD guidelines on transfer pricing
• Seek good relationships with tax authorities in the countries where Ambu operates
• Strive to maintain a stable effective tax rate in the medium to long term
• Honour a policy of not entering into tax speculation schemes or aggressive tax planning with the purpose to avoid or defer taxation.

Tax risk management and governance

The managerial responsibility for computation of taxes in Ambu are split between Ambu’s subsidiaries and the corporate headquarters. As a global player in the medtech industry Ambu’s business model is heavily relaying on a large share of cross-border transactions which adds to the complexity of the underlying tax-structures. For this reason, Ambu will from time to time seek external guidance to understand the full tax consequences of ordinary commercial activities.

Ambu operates a simple transfer pricing setup based on the principal structure and pays corporate income tax in the countries where business is conducted in accordance with the framework of international tax laws and the OECD guidelines on transfer pricing. 

Interpretation of tax laws and guidelines can lead to a risk that Ambu views a tax liability differently than how local tax authorities may view it. In general, Ambu has a low risk appetite on tax planning and will not pursue initiatives with the purpose to avoid or artificially defer taxation, and all financial transactions must have a commercial rationale. Within the framework of international tax law and the OECD guidelines, Ambu will optimize tax opportunities to seek an effective tax rate that remains stable in the medium to long term.

This paper presents Ambu’s most relevant tax policies and standards of operation within the field of corporate income tax. The overall tax policy is approved by the Audit Committee.

The Group CFO has the overall responsibility to ensure that Ambu’s activities and tax positions are compliant with the tax policy. Additionally, the tax policy aims to have a steady effective tax rate on operating profits over time.