A majority of tax officials believes the Big Four accounting firms try to exploit loopholes in laws to help clients at least some of the time, with only a quarter believing they consistently follow the spirit of the law, a study by the OECD has found.
Tax authority employees also believed the Big Four — Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC — were more likely than local accounting firms to advise clients to use aggressive tax strategies, underlining a lack of trust between the firms and government administrators.
The study found a widespread belief within state tax bodies that the Big Four promote artificial tax planning structures. A significant minority of officials said the firms use their lobbying power illegitimately.