• To satisfy all tax compliance obligations within the relevant statutory timeframe and in compliance with the applicable tax law, disclosure requirements and regulations;
• To complete accurate tax reporting on at least a quarterly basis to allow a detailed understanding of IQUW’s effective tax position as well as the tax balances in the balance sheet;
• To develop and maintain good working relationships with tax authorities in jurisdictions where IQUW has a presence and with other external stakeholders including regulatory authorities and Lloyd’s;
• To not enter into any artificial transactions where the sole purpose is to reduce tax liabilities or to defeat the purpose of tax legislation;
• To ensure that tax is considered as part of commercial transactions to support our business objectives; and
• To aim to be compliant with tax laws at all times.

IQUW seeks to safeguard shareholder interests and maintain its integrity, reputation and brand with its external stakeholders including investors, governments and customers at all times.

Ultimate responsibility for IQUW’s tax strategy and compliance rests with the Board of IQUW Holdings Limited, with day-to-day management is delegated to the Group Chief Financial Officer.

IQUW is exposed to a variety of tax risks, and management of these tax risks is central to ensuring that we pay and collect the correct amount of tax as well as meet all required reporting and disclosure requirements to the relevant tax authorities.

Tax risk is managed under the Group’s risk management strategy which puts structure around the risks to which the Group is exposed and defines the framework to manage those risks in meeting the strategic objectives.

The risk management framework facilitates the effective identification and management of key risks of which tax risk has been identified as a specific risk.

A key consideration for an effective risk management framework is risk appetite, defined as the level of risk we are willing to take in pursuit of the Group’s objectives.

Risk appetite is managed through the:

• Board-approved risk appetite statements;
• the capital adequacy and other objectives contained in the business plan;
• regular systems and controls reviews;
• policies relating to the key risk areas;
• ongoing monitoring of risk metrics and measures against the risk appetite statements and tolerances; and
• commissioning an external tax advisor to review specific risk areas when the technical position is uncertain or where further guidance is needed.

The management of tax risk is supported by the maintenance of a detailed risk register which presents a view of all the possible types of risks that the Group may face. Tax risk forms a subset of our overall risk register with tax risks being allocated to one of the following key areas:

• Transactional tax risk – this concerns the risks and tax exposures associated with specific transactions undertaken by the Group. This could include; acquisitions/disposals of businesses or parts of a business, business restructuring projects and capital transactions such as share capital reductions and debt reorganisations;
• Operational tax risk – this concerns the underlying risks of applying tax laws, regulations and decisions to the routine everyday business operations of the Group;
• Compliance tax risk – this concerns the risk associated with meeting an organisation’s tax compliance obligations. Compliance risk relates primarily to the processes that support the preparation, completion and review of the Group’s tax returns and the risks within these processes; and

Financial accounting risk – this concerns the risk associated with the reporting of the tax disclosures in the Group’s Financial Statements.

IQUW’s policy is to pay the right amount of tax as required by local tax laws in each jurisdiction.

• IQUW aims to undertake all tax planning within the context that the commercial competetiveness of the Group is paramount. Tax efficiency of operating is important in the (re)insurance market; and
• Managing tax efficiency involves choices as to the jurisdictions in which to locate capital and/or business activity and the legal structure of that activity. Such choices take account of all business and regulatory consequences of operating in such a manner.

• IQUW seeks to have a constructive and transparent relationship with all tax authorities through communication in respect of developments in IQUW’s business, current, future and retrospective tax risks, and interpretation of the law concerning all relevant taxes;
• Where possible, tax authorities are regularly updated on significant business developments or matters that could involve several interpretations of tax legislation; and
• Where relevant, IQUW discloses all uncertain tax positions and rationale for adopting treatments in the tax computations submitted to relevant tax authorities.

The Group regards the publication of this tax strategy as satisfying the statutory obligation under paragraph 19(2) Schedule 19 Finance Act 2016 to publish a tax strategy in relation to the financial year ended 31 December 2023.  The tax strategy statement is reviewed annually and updated as necessary.