The United States has been the main obstacle to adopting an international agreement to tax Internet giants, the Treasury Department has said.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Glenn told her G20 counterparts that Washington was abandoning a proposal put on the table by the previous Donald Trump administration in 2019 to implement a “safe haven” clause.
With this clause, large online companies would be able to choose whether to accept the new tax system, on a voluntary basis, or to continue with the current one.
France immediately welcomed Washington's change of attitude, saying it was now possible to reach an agreement by the summer.
Negotiations are taking place within the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Washington's abandonment of the “safe harbor” clause is “a huge step forward on our way to reaching an agreement by the end of the summer,” German Finance Minister Olaf Soltz said on the sidelines of the summit. G20.
The negotiations concern two main issues: the minimum amount of the tax but also in which country it will be paid.
