LEGAL & REGULATORY RISKS
We must successfully manage compliance with current and expanding laws and regulations, as well as manage new and pending legal and regulatory matters in the U.S. and abroad.
Our business is subject to a wide variety of laws and regulations across the countries in which we do business, including those laws and regulations involving intellectual property, product liability, product composition or formulation, packaging content or end-of-life responsibility, marketing, antitrust and competition, privacy, data protection, environmental (including increasing focus on the climate, water, and waste impacts of consumer packaged goods companies’ operations and products), employment, healthcare, anti-bribery, anti-corruption, trade (including tariffs, sanctions and export controls), tax, accounting and financial reporting or other matters. In addition, increasing governmental and societal attention to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) matters, including expanding mandatory and voluntary reporting, diligence, and disclosure on topics such as climate change, waste production, water usage, human capital, labor, and risk oversight, could expand the nature, scope, and complexity of matters that we are required to control, assess, and report. These and other rapidly changing laws, regulations, policies and related interpretations, as well as increased enforcement actions by various governmental and regulatory agencies, create challenges for the Company, including our compliance and ethics programs, may alter the environment in which we do business and may increase the ongoing costs of compliance, which could adversely impact our results of operations and cash flows. If we are unable to continue to meet these challenges and comply with all laws, regulations, policies and related interpretations, it could negatively impact our reputation and our business results. Additionally, we are currently, and in the future may be, subject to a number of inquiries, investigations, claims, proceeding, and requests for information from governmental agencies or private parties, the adverse outcomes of which could harm our business. Failure to successfully manage these new or pending regulatory and legal matters and resolve such matters without significant liability or damage to our reputation may
8 The Procter & Gamble Company
materially adversely impact our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Furthermore, if new or pending legal or regulatory matters result in fines or costs in excess of the amounts accrued to date, that may also materially impact our results of operations and financial position.
Changes in applicable tax laws and regulations and resolutions of tax disputes could negatively affect our financial results.
The Company is subject to taxation in the U.S. and numerous foreign jurisdictions. Changes in the various tax laws can and do occur. For example, in December 2017, the U.S. government enacted comprehensive tax legislation commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the U.S. Tax Act). The changes included in the U.S. Tax Act were broad and complex. Under the current U.S. presidential administration, comprehensive federal income tax reform has been proposed, including an increase in the U.S. Federal corporate income tax rate, elimination of certain investment incentives, and a more than doubling of U.S. residual taxation of non-U.S. earnings. While these proposals are controversial, likely to change during the legislative process, and may prove difficult to enact as proposed in the current closely divided U.S. Congress, their impact could nonetheless be significant.
Additionally, longstanding international tax norms that determine each country’s jurisdiction to tax cross-border international trade are subject to potential evolution. An outgrowth of the original Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project is a project undertaken by the more than 130 member countries of the expanded OECD Inclusive Framework focused on “Addressing the Challenges of the Digitalization of the Economy.” The breadth of this project extends beyond pure digital businesses and is likely to impact all multinational businesses by potentially redefining jurisdictional taxation rights in market countries and establishing a global minimum tax.
While it is too early to assess the overall impact of these potential changes, as these and other tax laws and related regulations are revised, enacted, and implemented, our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows could be materially impacted.
Furthermore, we are subject to regular review and audit by both foreign and domestic tax authorities. While we believe our tax positions will be sustained, the final outcome of tax audits and related litigation, including maintaining our intended tax treatment of divestiture transactions such as the fiscal 2017 Beauty Brands transaction with Coty, may differ materially from the tax amounts recorded in our Consolidated Financial Statements, which could adversely impact our results of operations and cash flows.