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Protective mask shop in Zimbabwe
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Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi / dpa
The leading economic nations (G20) want to give the poorest countries in the world a further delay in interest and principal payments in view of the corona crisis.
The debt moratorium will be extended until the end of the year, announced Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD) after discussions with his G20 colleagues.
This should give the countries more leeway for investments to combat the pandemic.
Postponement alone is not enough, however, emphasized Scholz.
It is also necessary to cancel the debt of some countries.
Private creditors should be included at least as much as the creditor countries.
The finance ministers of the G20 countries also agreed that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) should soon receive a financial injection.
Scholz said that he was talking about $ 650 billion.
This money is also intended to give emerging and developing countries more leeway for economic development and combating the corona pandemic, among other things.
Scholz also called for vaccines against the coronavirus to be distributed fairly around the world.
At the moment there is still a funding gap, and more countries need to be more involved in international vaccination programs.
Global tax reform in summer
The leading economic nations (G20) are also aiming for a global tax reform by July.
This is what Italy’s Finance Minister Daniele Franco said after an online meeting with his colleagues from the G20 group of leading industrialized and emerging countries.
Tax issues are a complex issue.
But they wanted to get results by the next meeting of finance ministers, he said.
The next round is planned for July 9th and 10th in Venice.
Italy is currently chairing the G20 countries in 2021.
The global tax reform discussed consists of two pillars: a minimum tax for international corporations and a digital tax, through which internet giants such as Amazon, Google or Apple are supposed to pay taxes not only at the company headquarters, but also in the countries where they generate their sales.
ssu / dpa