Fair Tax Foundation

What Fair Tax Foundation does

Fair Tax Foundation Limited is a Manchester-based community benefit society, registered in England under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014 (Reg No. 32308R), founded in 2014 to operate the Fair Tax Mark — the world's first accreditation scheme for responsible corporate tax conduct. It certifies that a business seeks to follow the spirit as well as the letter of the law, shuns artificial use of tax havens, and is transparent about profits made and taxes paid. The scheme has been secured by 275 businesses employing more than 475,000 people and contributing £4.1bn / €4.8bn annually in corporate income tax, across the UK, Denmark, Germany, Finland, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and the Netherlands.

The foundation delivers its certification through a tiered set of proprietary standards: the Global Multinational Business Standard, the Solely UK-based Business Standard (£1m+ turnover), the UK Small Business Standard (turnover of £1m or lower), and the National Business Standard launched in June 2026 to extend eligibility to single-country businesses worldwide. Supporting offerings include the pCbCR Resource Hub tracking 383 public country-by-country reports from 302 multinationals, the Tax Responsibility and Transparency Index, the Silicon Six tax gap report, and template resources (Model Tax Policy, Model Tax Notes). The technology footprint is minimal — the organization operates a WordPress-based website and standard SaaS tools (Mailchimp, Google Analytics); there is no proprietary technology platform, API, or AI capability.

The revenue model is subscription-recurring accreditation fees on an annual cadence, tiered by business size and complexity with non-publicly-disclosed pricing, supplemented by donations. Go-to-market is a hybrid of direct sales (Business Enquiry Form, accreditation team-led engagement), community-led growth through a progressive network of accredited businesses and UK Councils for Fair Tax, and event-driven momentum anchored on the annual Fair Tax Week campaign. Customer segments are horizontal, spanning multinationals, UK mid-to-large businesses, UK SMBs, co-operatives and social enterprises, and sustainability/ESG-focused businesses including B Corps. The organization operates with a small team of approximately 10 employees.

Name

Fair Tax Foundation

Legal name

Fair Tax Foundation Limited

Website

https://fairtaxmark.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Fair Tax Foundation is a Manchester-based non-profit that operates the Fair Tax Mark, the world's first gold standard accreditation for responsible corporate tax conduct, certifying 275 businesses across 8 European countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tax Compliance Certification

NAICS

Business Associations (81391)

akta.pro primary industry

Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing Certification Services (AFALAMAD)

Keywords

• Tax transparency certification
• Responsible tax accreditation
• Corporate tax compliance
• Ethical business certification
• Fair tax standards

Headquarters

HQ city

Manchester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Accreditation fees: Businesses pay fees to undergo the Fair Tax Mark certification process. The organization offers tailored certification standards for global multinationals, UK-based businesses with turnover above £1m, and UK small businesses with turnover of £1m or lower.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Fair Tax Foundation is a UK non-profit that delivers the Fair Tax Mark — an independent accreditation awarded to businesses that demonstrate responsible tax conduct, transparency, and compliance. It certifies companies, small businesses, and tax advisers, while producing research and policy advocacy to advance corporate tax responsibility.

Product overview

The Fair Tax Foundation offers the Fair Tax Mark certification as its core product - a gold-standard accreditation for responsible tax conduct that certifies businesses pay the right amount of corporate income tax at the right time and in the right place. The organization provides tiered certification standards including the Global Multinational Business Standard for multinational enterprises, the Solely UK-based Business Standard for larger UK businesses, and the UK Small Business Standard for micro-enterprises. Supporting offerings include the National Business Standard (launched 2026), the pCbCR Resource Hub for tracking corporate tax transparency reports, the Tax Responsibility and Transparency Index for benchmarking, and template resources including Model Tax Policy and Model Tax Notes. The portfolio serves businesses of all sizes from small UK retailers to large listed multinationals across Europe, with accreditation available in multiple languages.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Fair Tax Mark (Business Accreditation)
• Fair Tax Mark for Small Businesses
• Fair Tax Mark for Tax Advisers

Quantifiable outcome

• 275 businesses hold the Fair Tax Mark, employing 475,000+ people and contributing £4.1bn/€4.8bn annually in corporate income tax worldwide
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Unity Trust BankcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUnity Trust Bank is described as a long-standing supporter of the Fair Tax Foundation, having supported the 'Fair Tax Nation' polling report. It was the first UK bank to achieve the Fair Tax Mark in 2014 and has retained the accreditation for twelve consecutive years. The bank, which serves social economy organizations and civil society in the UK, has been a core advocate for responsible tax conduct.
• Oxfam Novib / Fair Finance InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFair Finance International (founded by Oxfam Novib) is a supporter of the Fair Tax Mark and uses rigorous methodologies to assess and report on responsible investment policies and practices from banks. Oxfam Novib's Fair Finance Guide scores banks on policies upholding international norms including on taxes. Triodos Bank scored 10/10 on practice in the most recent assessment.
• Ethical ConsumercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEthical Consumer is a long-standing supporter of the Fair Tax Mark, producing research and ratings for ethically-minded businesses and consumers. The organization helps shoppers buy ethically and provides consultancy services. Their support for the Fair Tax Mark reflects their view that tax is a critical component of ethical business conduct.
• UK Councils for Fair TaxminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerA network of UK local councils that support fair tax principles and promote the Fair Tax Mark within their communities and procurement processes. This grassroots network extends the reach of the Fair Tax Foundation's message to public sector stakeholders.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Tax Justice Network: Independent civil society organization focused on tax transparency and combating tax havens. Adjacent rather than direct: shares the advocacy and research mission but does not issue business accreditation, instead serving as the broader policy movement the Fair Tax Mark operationalizes.
• Social Accountability International (SA8000): Non-profit certifying factory and workplace social compliance. Comparable as an ethical certification body addressing one specific dimension of corporate conduct (labor, in their case; tax transparency, in Fair Tax Foundation's case).
• Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI): UK-based alliance of companies, NGOs and unions promoting worker rights in supply chains. Comparable as a civil society-led values coalition that accredited businesses can join, though focused on labor rather than tax.
• Sedex: Membership platform for ethical trade and supply chain data. Comparable as a fee-based business membership organization that helps companies demonstrate responsible conduct, though focused on supply chain rather than tax.

Direct peers

• Rainforest Alliance: International non-profit issuing sustainability certification seals to businesses and farms. Comparable as a mission-driven certification body with fee-based accreditation, brand-recognized trust mark, and global corporate membership.
• Fairtrade International / FLO-CERT: Operates the Fairtrade certification scheme for ethical sourcing, with a parallel certification body (FLO-CERT) auditing supply chain compliance. Closest structural analog to Fair Tax Mark: independent civil society standard with annual accreditation and a community of certified businesses.
• B Lab (B Corp): Global non-profit certifying businesses on social and environmental performance. Most directly comparable peer: operates an analogous third-party certification model with tiered standards, accreditation fees, and a public-facing trust mark that ESG-focused businesses use to differentiate.

Broad incumbents

• Global Reporting Initiative (GRI): International standards organization for sustainability reporting (including GRI 207 on Tax). Indirectly comparable: GRI sets the reporting framework that Fair Tax Mark accredited businesses align with, making GRI both a complementary standard and a partial substitute for the tax-conduct accreditation.

Others

• Fair Finance International (Oxfam Novib): Coalition that scores banks on responsible investment policies including tax conduct. Already a stated partner of the Fair Tax Foundation; relevant as both a complementary assessment scheme and a potential substitute for the financial-services accreditation use case.

Regional players

• Accountancy Europe: European umbrella body for the accounting profession that publishes tax transparency position papers and engages with EU pCbCR policy. Comparable as a regional tax transparency standard-setter, though representing accountants rather than certifying individual businesses.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/fairtaxmark
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fair-tax-foundation

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fair Tax Foundation