Today, the G20 finance ministers are discussing a global minimum tax on corporate profits. On Monday, US Treasury Secretary Yellen had proposed a tax rate of 21 percent. Olaf Scholz left it open in his reaction yesterday whether he supports a tax rate at this level. Sven Giegold, financial and economic policy spokesperson of the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament, expresses his expectations:
“The crux of the global minimum tax on corporate profits is the tax rate. Only with an appropriate tax rate is the global minimum tax a powerful weapon against tax dumping. Scholz’s refusal to commit to a concrete tax rate is not helpful. Scholz should get behind Yellen’s proposal and support the 21 percent tax rate. The 12 percent discussed so far in the OECD would avoid conflicts with the EU tax havens, but are too low to end the tax race to the bottom. 21 percent would be a fair minimum tax rate for global corporate profits. The US push offers a chance to end the tax dumping on corporate profits. Especially in the Covid crisis, countries can no longer ignore corporate tax avoidance. With France and Germany’s support for a 21 percent tax rate, the proposal could gain majority support among the G20. With its national GILTI tax, America has shown how to fight international tax dumping without waiting for tax havens to agree.”