At a meeting in Stresa, Italy, on Friday 24 May, the G7 Finance Ministers addressed two main tax issues: Pillar I of the international corporate tax reform and the creation of an international wealth tax.
Pillar I. Despite the text of a new multilateral agreement to implement Pillar I Amount A, published in October 2023 (see EUROPE 13270/23), discussions have not reached a conclusion.
In a press release, the ministers reiterated their “strong political commitment to establish a more stable and fairer international tax system fit for the 21st century”. “The implementation of the Two-Pillar Solution is our top priority, and we remain committed to finalising the work within the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework with a view to signing the Multilateral Convention on Pillar One by the end of June 2024” they wrote. They called on all members of the Inclusive Framework to do their utmost to achieve this objective.
“We are at an impasse”, explained Giancarlo Giorgetti, Italy’s Minister for the Economy and Finance, at a press conference. “Everything depends on a transparent definition of the rules of the game and, as far as this type of approach is concerned, India is resisting it, as is China, and the June deadline is likely to be a failure”, he admitted.
The ministers also welcomed the fact that a growing number of jurisdictions have implemented or begun to implement the second Pillar (see EUROPE 13320/17).
Read the 2024 progress report on tax cooperation for the 21st century: https://aeur.eu/f/ce0
Wealth tax. According to AFP, on Thursday 23 May, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen opposed international negotiations on a global tax on the wealthiest, a project championed by Brazil during its presidency of the G20 and supported in particular by France (see EUROPE 13361/27). Although she believes that “the tax burden on high incomes and companies is too low”, she is not in favour of resolving the problem of resource flows as part of an international tax negotiation.
A global tax is “much more relevant than a French or European tax”, replied French President Emmanuel Macron.
See the G7 Finance press release: https://aeur.eu/f/cdc (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)