The Director of the OECD's Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, Pascal Saint-Amans, examined the results of this weekend's G20 Finance meeting on international tax reform in a webinar on Wednesday 22 July. He sees this as a reassuring message after the recent turbulence on the American side (see EUROPE 12509/17).
The message is that reaching an agreement before the US elections may prove difficult, but keeping the end of the year as a marker means that "nobody is postponing" and that it remains an "an important step", said Pascal Saint-Amans.
In their final communiqué, the G20 Finance Ministers reaffirmed their willingness to overcome their differences in order to reach a global solution on the two pillars of international tax reform in 2020 (see EUROPE 12532/9).
He said the communiqué "reveals a political environment that is not easy", but "reflects a real willingness to work together and to find solutions", including on the part of the United States, which agreed the text.
The G20 Finance Ministers mandated the OECD to develop a 'blueprint' on the design of the two pillars for their next meeting, which is scheduled to take place by videoconference on 15-16 October. These detailed plans will be ready for the G20/OECD Inclusive Framework meeting on BEPS on 8-9 October and will be made public, Mr Saint-Amans assured.
The documents will go far beyond the outlines of the architecture of a unified approach on Pillar I, which were approved in January (see EUROPE 12416/20), and will provide technical details on the characteristics of the two pillars. "The blueprints should be as close as possible to the documents that will be approved by the ministers", he explained.
Uncertainty remains, however, about the nature of what could be adopted in October. "It is unclear whether the blueprints will be adopted without prejudice or whether they will be subject to other political decisions", he said.
It is also unclear whether these detailed plans will resolve the remaining differences among Inclusive Framework members. The question of the scope of the first pillar (digital taxation) remains the most difficult, Mr Saint-Amans stressed.
The next step will then be the summit of the leaders of the G20 countries on 21 and 22 November 2020, in the presence of the American President, Donald Trump, since the Trump administration will remain in place until January, regardless of the outcome of the American elections. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)