Since 2016, the 140 countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have been negotiating fiercely to reach this agreement.
Emmanuel Macron welcomed this Saturday, on Twitter, the "historic" agreement of 136 countries to impose a minimum tax of 15% on multinationals, "a major advance for tax justice".
“For 4 years, we have been working for fair taxation of multinationals and digital giants.
The tax agreement found at the OECD is historic.
Any multinational company will have to pay at least 15% tax.
This is a major step forward for tax justice, ”tweeted the French president, the day after the announcement of this agreement by the OECD, after the rallies of Ireland, Estonia and Hungary.
Only Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have not signed it.
For 4 years, we have been working for fair taxation of multinationals and digital giants.
The tax agreement found at the OECD is historic.
Any multinational company will have to pay at least 15% tax.
This is a major step forward for tax justice.
- Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) October 9, 2021
These 136 countries, which represent 90% of world GDP, will be able to generate around 150 billion euros in additional revenue thanks to this minimum tax from 2023. As a reminder, a company must achieve at least one million euros in turnover business in a state so that the latter can benefit from the measure, or 250,000 euros if the state's GDP is less than 40 billion euros.
An insufficient agreement for some economists and NGOs
The objective is for the reform to be implemented by 2023, the time to adapt the legislation. But some questions remain unanswered, such as the ability of the US administration to force reform on Congress. The French Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, has already indicated that he wants to translate this agreement into a legal act during the French presidency of the European Union, in the first half of 2022.
NGOs and some economists, however, deemed it insufficiently ambitious, and a source of inequalities between rich and developing countries.
According to Oxfam, the poorest countries will get less than 3% of the additional tax revenue.
The Nobel laureate in economics Joseph Stiglitz, who campaigned for a minimum tax of 25%, also regretted on Thursday an agreement which "does not sufficiently address the concerns of developing countries and emerging countries".
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Five minutes to understand a tax revolution
This agreement was obtained after the rallies of Ireland, Estonia and Hungary.
The announcement on Thursday of the green light from Ireland, which is home to many European headquarters of American multinationals, was essential.
For now, Facebook, Google and Apple all maintain large offices in Ireland, and their weight in the country's economy cannot be underestimated: the digital sector accounts for 13% of the country's GDP and employs 210,000 people, according to the Technology Ireland industry group.
GAFA and web giants are obviously targeted.
They who are often singled out for settling in tax havens and amassing profits by working in countries where taxation is higher.