G7 finance ministers progress on tax deal

Finance ministers from the Group of Seven said that they made some progress at reaching a joint position on a landmark global corporate tax deal, days before it needs to win over a wider international audience. The U.S. Treasury Department gave a statement that a common understanding was reached on some of the important open issues to support reaching final political agreement within the OECD Inclusive Framework in October. Britain brokered an outline agreement in June.

This is on a global minimum corporate tax rate of 15%. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development has been trying to shepherd through tax reform for years. And so they want to get full agreement on detailed proposals from 139 negotiating countries. Britain’s finance minister Rishi Sunak said that the meeting of finance ministers evidences the continued ambition and collaboration of G7 countries. This is for achieving historic global tax reform. So that they can ensure that the companies pay their fair share of tax in the countries they do business.

A British finance ministry spokesperson said that the G7 finance ministers had reached a common understanding on some important remaining issues before OECD and G20 tax meetings. Japanese finance minister Taro Aso said that there had been agreement on some points under discussion. French Finance Minister Bruno LeMaire also cited progress on key negotiating points. Irish finance minister Paschal Donohoe said that he expected the OECD to produce updated proposals in the coming days. He added that soon it will be a critical moment for the negotiations that have been underway for years and will show whether an agreement is possible. Ireland having a corporate tax rate of just 12.5%.