G7 set to strike deal on global corporate taxation Governments to get extra tax revenue as US treasury secretary drives ‘hard bargain’
about 2 hours ago Chris Giles in London
Minister for Finance and president of the Eurogroup Paschal Donohoe and British chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak: The US is keen on a global minimum rate as it would stop its tech giants shifting their profits to low-tax jurisdictions. Photograph: Hollie Adams
The leading advanced economies are set to agree a common position on taxing multinational companies on Saturday in a bid to end a three-decade race to the bottom in corporate taxation which would raise extra revenue for governments around the world.
Group of Seven finance ministers are closing in on an agreement to drive for a minimum corporate rate of “at least 15 per cent” in international tax negotiations, as the US proposed late last month, according to people familiar with the matter.
The ministers are meeting Friday and Saturday in London and are due to release a statement after the discussions. Such an agreement would be one of two parts of a broader deal that countries are trying to reach also covering how to divide up levies on some of the biggest multinational firms like Facebook and Amazon.
Agreeing on the “at least” wording would leave room for maneuver in talks involving around 140 nations on how to rework global rules to stop multinational companies from shifting profits to low-tax jurisdictions. It would also give the US some leeway for talks on its own domestic legislation.