尝翱狈顿翱狈听鈥听Finance ministers from the G7 group of rich nations will meet in London on Friday for two days of talks aimed at moving closer to a global deal to raise more tax from the likes of Google, Facebook,听and Amazon.听
The gathering, chaired by British finance minister Rishi Sunak, will be the first time all seven ministers will meet face-to-face since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.听
US President Joseph听R.听Biden, Jr.鈥檚 willingness to raise taxes on large businesses also creates more chance of an international consensus than under his predecessor Donald听J.听Trump.听
鈥淚鈥檓 hugely optimistic that we will deliver some concrete outcomes this weekend,鈥澨齅r.听Sunak said in a statement released late on Thursday.听
Mr.听Sunak stressed the importance of his fellow ministers from the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Italy and Canada being able to meet face-to-face in Lancaster House, an ornate 19th-century mansion almost next door to Buckingham Palace.听
鈥淵ou need to be听round听a table, openly, candidly talking through things,鈥 Mr.听Sunak told Reuters in an interview this week.听
Due to听coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)听restrictions, ministerial delegations have been cut down and there are few traveling journalists. Seating plans have been redesigned with the help of public health officials.听
But the bigger challenge remains reaching an agreement on tax reform which could then be presented to a broader group of countries, the G20, at a summit in Venice in July.听
French finance minister Bruno Le Maire said ahead of the meeting that an agreement would be a听鈥渄ecisive step鈥澨齱hich he thought was听鈥渨ithin reach.鈥听
However, Japanese finance minister Taro Aso said on Monday that he did not expect agreement this week on a specific minimum tax rate.听
The US Treasury expects a fuller agreement to come when Biden and other heads of government meet at a secluded beach resort in southwest England on June 11鈥13.听
MINIMUM 15% RATE听
The United States has proposed a minimum global corporate tax rate of at least 15%. If a company paid tax somewhere with a lower rate, it would probably have to pay top-up taxes.听
But just as important for Britain and many other countries is that companies pay more tax where they make their sales听鈥听not just where they book profits, or locate their headquarters.听
The United States wants an end to the digital services taxes which Britain, France,听and Italy have levied, and which it views as unfairly targeting US tech giants for tax practices that European companies also use.听
British, Italian,听and Spanish fashion and luxury goods exports to the United States will be among those facing new 25% tariffs later this year if there is no compromise.听
The United States has proposed levying the new global minimum tax only on the world鈥檚 100 largest and most profitable companies.听
Britain, Germany,听and France are open to this approach but want to ensure companies such as Amazon听鈥听which has lower profit margins than other tech firms听鈥听do not escape the net.听
鈥淎ll of them, and without exception鈥澨齧ust be covered by the new rules, German finance minister Olaf Scholz told Reuters.听
Daniel Bunn, an expert on global taxation at Washington鈥檚 Tax Foundation think tank, said this was likely to lead to more complex regulation.听
鈥淎 lot of those rules are going to be, I think, politically based rather than principles-based,鈥澨齢e said.听
Some large companies might even be incentivized to acquire less profitable subsidiaries to reduce their overall profit margin and dodge the new tax, he added.听
Climate change is the other main point on the agenda. Britain hosts the United Nations鈥櫶鼵OP climate summit in Glasgow in November, and wants countries to make businesses report their environmental impact in a consistent way, to make it easier for investors to back green projects.听
British businesses will have to follow an environmental听reporting听 model听set out by the Financial Stability Board, a global regulator, from 2022. French businesses have followed similar national guidelines since 2016.听鈥听David Milliken/Reuters听
