Instituições financeiras listadas na B3 que praticam ESG têm menor nível de tax avoidance?

The main objective of this study was to provide a limited analysis of the relationship between the adoption of ESG practices and tax aggressiveness in Brazilian financial institutions. The sample comprised twelve financial companies listed on B3, equally divided between those included in the Corporate Sustainability Index (ISE B3), used as a proxy for ESG adoption, and those not included in the index. The period analyzed spanned from 2015 to 2020, comprising seventy-two observations in a balanced panel. Tax aggressiveness is measured using GAAP ETR and Book-Tax Difference (BTD) metrics, while ESG performance was captured by a dummy variable indicating presence or absence in ISE B3. The statistical procedure involved initial descriptive analyses, pooled OLS regression, and subsequently the use of the fixed effects model, selected based on specification tests following national literature. The empirical results indicated no statistically significant relationship between ESG adoption and lower tax aggressiveness, although occasional associations were observed for some control variables. These findings suggest caution for investors and regulators when ESG adoption automatically reduces tax aggressiveness. Public policies and institutional strategies should consider the complexity and limitations highlighted. The study also highlights the constraints imposed by the scarcity of standardized data and the structural heterogeneity of the Brazilian financial sector, underscoring the importance of future research with larger samples and alternative proxies to deepen the understanding of the relationship between ESG practices and tax aggressiveness.