G20 finance ministers have agreed to stop the transfer of profits from multinational companies to offshore tax havens. The coronavirus pandemic threatens the recovery of the world economy, experts from the most developed countries in the world also warned.
The tax deal is the biggest breakthrough in financial policy after eight years of intensive negotiations. It provides for a minimum corporate tax of at least 15% worldwide, so that large companies do not export their accounts to the countries with the lowest tax rates.
German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz hailed the agreement as a “great historic moment” and added that there was loud applause at the end of the debate at the ministerial meeting. “The G20 countries have now agreed that they want to agree among themselves on a new order for international taxation,” Scholz said.
The national leaders are expected to finally adopt the document at their meeting in Rome in October, the German finance minister added.
Asked about the EU’s digital tax plans, the German minister noted that what is needed is a global solution.
“A global corporate tax agreement would benefit all governments and help increase tax revenues by ending the race between countries to set the lowest possible rates,” US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told a joint news conference. his German counterpart Olaf Scholz at the G20 financial summit.
According to her, it is not vital that all parties agree with the proposal, but the concerns of those who hesitate will be addressed in the coming months.
The finance ministers also agreed on the need for faster distribution of vaccines, drugs and tests against Covid-19, but without specifying concrete steps for that, the draft of the final statement from their meeting in Venice shows.
The G20 countries are responsible for over 80% of the world’s gross domestic product, 75% of world trade and 60% of the world’s population.
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