Towards a global tax on multinationals | Ac …

The finance ministers of the seven richest countries in the world yesterday reached an agreement to lay the foundations for a new international tax system by introducing a global minimum tax of 15% for large multinational corporations. The measure, if it materializes, would affect global companies such as Facebook, Amazon or Google, which pay taxes on their profits in different countries – with more favorable tax terms – from where they sell their products and services. Argentine Economy Minister Martín Guzmán considered that it was “a positive measure to tackle tax evasion by multinationals”, although he regretted that this 15% “is probably also the maximum rate ”and warned that“ it is very little ”.

The G-7, which brings together Canada, the United States, Japan, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, has no formal role in the process of discussing the new taxation international, even if an agreement within it represents an important impetus to progress in the negotiations underway within the G-20 and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

UK Finance Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed the pact he made with his peers in London, which he said aims to create a balanced playing field for global business. “After years of debate, G7 finance ministers have reached a historic agreement to reform the global tax system to adapt it to the global digital age,” he said. The initiative is “to adapt to the global digital age but more importantly to ensure that the right companies pay the right taxes in the right places and that is a huge price for UK taxpayers,” Sunak said.

“Tax dumping cannot be an option in Europe or in any country in the world. This practice would only lead to an even greater drop in the collection of corporate tax, more inequalities and the impossibility of financing basic public services, ”the ministries of the government said in a text. economy Daniele Franco (Italy), Nadia Calviño (Spain), Bruno Le Maire (France) and Olaf Scholz (Germany). “If we share a minimum corporate tax, we will help stop the race to lower taxes we are witnessing today and ensure that our countries can financially support the necessary commitments, especially after all the money.” spent to deal with the Covid emergency and defend the health of the population. and the economy, ”said Scholz. For her part, the Chief of the United States Treasury, Janet Yellen, declared that “this global minimum rate puts an end to the race to the bottom of corporate taxes and guarantees justice for the middle class and workers in the United States. And in the world. . “.

North American President Joseph Biden’s proposal to sanction a 15% corporate profit tax pursues the dual purpose of stopping the flight of revenue to third countries and ensuring that large corporations pay taxes to states United and can finance infrastructure projects. The president, who initially proposed a 21% rate and had to give up until the 15th to reach a deal, is seeking to make the initiative attractive to Republican lawmakers and allow approval of White House plans.

“A positive step to tackle the tax evasion of multinationals which weakens nation-states and threatens the development of peoples. We celebrate the engagement of the G-7 ”, underlined Minister Guzmán on his Twitter account. “But beware: the minimum rate will probably also be the maximum rate. And 15% is very little, ”he warned.