“A historic agreement”: 136 countries out of 140 of the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework have reached an agreement on the so-called minimum tax, which imposes a minimum taxation of 15% on large multinationals, starting with the web giants.
An agreement made possible, after years of intense negotiations, thanks to the membership of IIreland, Estonia and Hungary, which had long been opposed. It is an agreement that is especially appreciated by Europe, which has worked hard on the issue. “I welcome today’s agreement on global tax reform. This is a historic moment. It is an important step forward in making our global tax system fairer.”, commented the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.
“The European Commission has strongly supported this international effort. I would like to thank Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni and his services for their tireless work in this regard”, added the European president. “Multilateralism is back,” she stressed Gentiloni who was among the protagonists of this success and does not hide his happiness on social media. The EU vice president also applauds Valdis Dombrovskis, who applauds this “great news” for global taxation.
The Secretary General of the OECD, Mathias Corman, pays tribute to what he considers a “great victory for effective and balanced multilateralism”.
“This is a far-reaching agreement – Cormann continues in a tweet – which ensures that our international tax system adapts to a digital global economy”. “Now – concludes the high official – we must work diligently to ensure the effective implementation of this major reform”.
The agreement will ensure that a minimum tax rate of 15% will be applied to multinational companies starting in 2023. The only four countries that have not joined are Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The remaining 136 that have said 'yes', including theItaly,” represent “over 90% of global GDP,” the OECD specifies, adding that the agreement will allow “to reattribute to countries around the world the benefits of over $125 billion earned by 100 of the world's largest and most profitable multinational companies”. Objective? To ensure that "these companies can honor their fair share of taxes regardless of the jurisdictions in which they conduct their activities and generate profits."
The political agreement reached in July by the members of the Inclusive Framework is thus finalized, with the aim of profoundly reforming the fiscal rules of the planet. With the green light from Dublin, Tallinn and Budapest, the agreement is now supported by all the member countries of the OECD, the European Union and the G20.
Based on two pillars, the agreement is announced a few days before the G20 Finance Ministers meeting scheduled for Washington on October 13th and especially from the G20 summit in Rome at the end of the month. The agreement on the minimum tax, the OECD specifies, does not have the objective of “end tax competition” ma “to set multilaterally agreed limits. It will allow countries to collect about 150 billion in additional revenue annually.”
Article published on 9 October 2021 - 07:39
