+

Cookies on the Business Insider India website

Business Insider India has updated its Privacy and Cookie policy. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the better experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we\'ll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on the Business Insider India website. However, you can change your cookie setting at any time by clicking on our Cookie Policy at any time. You can also see our Privacy Policy.

Close
HomeQuizzoneWhatsappShare Flash Reads
 

Ireland, the home of Apple and Google in Europe, is seeking a compromise on Biden's plan for a 15% global minimum corporate tax rate, reports say

Jun 21, 2021, 00:02 IST
Business Insider
A Google office in Dublin.Cathal McNaughton/Reuters
  • Ireland, which hosts HQs for many tech firms, signalled it's seeking a compromise on corporate tax.
  • G7 leaders agreed to a 15% global minimum corporate tax rate, which is higher than Ireland's 12.5%.
  • Ireland's finance minister told CNBC there's a role for "legitimate tax competition."
Advertisement

Ireland, the European home of tech giants like Apple, Google, and Microsoft, said it was willing to "compromise" on global minimum tax rates.

Paschal Donohoe, Ireland's finance minister, on Friday told CNBC that the country would "engage" in tax-rate negotiations "very intensely."

"...and I do hope an agreement can be reached that does recognize the role of legitimate tax competition for smaller and medium-sized economies," Donohoe said.

The Group of Seven (G7) wealthy nations this month agreed to a 15% global minimum corporate tax rate, higher than Ireland's 12.5%.

President Joe Biden's administration pushed the agreement, saying it would be "a critical step towards ending the decades-long race to the bottom" on corporate tax rates.

Advertisement

Ireland has long attracted multinational corporations seeking a European outpost with favorable rates, sometimes at the frustration of its European neighbors. Apple in 2016 was targeted by the European Commission, which said the company needed to pay back taxes of about $15 billion. Apple appealed.

Big Tech this month mostly said it welcomed a uniform global rate.

"Facebook has long called for reform of the global tax rules and we welcome the important progress made at the G7," Nick Clegg, vice president for global affairs at Facebook, told Insider.

As the G7 tax agreement was announced, Donohoe said on Twitter that there were 139 countries that would eventually be involved in such a tax agreement. As such, it would have to work for small and large nations, he said, and both developing and wealthy nations would all have to agree.

"It is in everyone's interest to achieve a sustainable, ambitious and equitable agreement on the international tax architecture," he said at the time.

Advertisement
Next Article