G20 leaders approve international tax reform | COP26 – Glasgow Climate Change Conference

According to several sources close to the talks in Rome, the green light will be made official in the final G20 press release on Sunday.

The agreement was reached in early October under the auspicesOECDOrganization for Economic Co-operation and Development Reform should allow 136 countries, which account for more than 90% of global gross domestic product (GDP), to earn an additional $ 150 billion ($ 185 billion) a year in revenue from this minimum tax.

Today, all G20 heads of state approved a landmark agreement on new international tax rules, including the global minimum tax, which ended the corporate tax race at the grassroots level.

Part of the agreement is to redistribute a portion of the profits tax paid by multinational corporations to the countries in which they operate. So the tax will no longer be paid only where their headquarters are located.

In view: Companies worldwide with sales of over 20 billion euros (28.6 billion Canadian dollars) and profitability of more than 10%. This threshold will be reduced to 10 billion euros (14.3 billion Canadian dollars) after seven years.

Minimum effective tax rate 15%

Reform aims to prevent multinationals, especially GAFA (giants Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple), who have benefited greatly from the Kovid-19 pandemic and sanctions, from paying ridiculous taxes on their revenues. .

The other part of the reform is the introduction of a minimum effective tax rate of 15% on the profits of multinational corporations. To make up the difference, the state can tax the foreign profits of one of its national companies, which is taxed abroad at a rate lower than this minimum rate.

Rallies In depth Ireland, Hungary and Estonia signed the agreement in early OctoberOECDOrganization for Economic Co-operation and Development To conclude negotiations by the time of the Rome Summit.

Their membership is crucial because France wants to use the rotating presidency of the European Council from January 2022 to receive the minimum tax by a European mandate that requires consensus.

Uncertainty over climate commitments

Things are getting more complicated for the weather, where many called for a strong signal during the opening Sunday of the 26th meeting.^E Meeting of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26) in Glasgow, In Scotland.

The G20 in particular has developed countries such as the United States and members of the European Union (EU) – but also large emerging economies such as China, Russia, Brazil or India – accounting for 80% of global greenhouse gas (GHG). Emissions.

Environmental protection was also one of the watchwords of the demonstrators who began to gather on the streets of Rome on Saturday afternoon. Various organizations (unions, far left, Fridays for the future) Called for rallies that are expected to mobilize thousands of people.

It’s time to try to make some vague commitments [l’Accord de] Reinforce them in solid and fast commitments to reduce Paris and emissions British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was quoted as saying in an interview with GES on Saturday by the ITV channel.

We need to be more ambitious On the climate, European Council President Charles Mitchell also predicted, but agreed that the question was particularly difficult. To some coal-based countries.

Chimneys emit their smoke into the atmosphere.

Photo: Reuters / Peter Andrews

China and many developing countries still rely heavily on this fossil fuel, which emits a lot of carbon dioxide (CO).₂), Especially to run its power plants in the current context of the energy crisis.

Negotiations have been complicated by the absence of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Rome, who will only attend the G20 via videoconference.

In their first interventions, on Saturday, they appealed for mutual recognition of the anti-Kovid vaccines they are currently offering, especially as Chinese and Russian sera are not accepted everywhere in the EU.

Not all countries that need it can access the vaccines Anti-Kovid, Vladimir Putin, his statement was broadcast and criticized by Russian public television. Dishonest competition as well as protectionism And some fact Vaccines and vaccination certificates are not ready for mutual recognition.

From Beijing, President Xi also asked Mutual identification of vaccines, According to his comments reported by state television CCTV.

Meetings during the summit

US and French Presidents Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron meet during the G20 summit in Rome.

Photo: Getty Images / afp by Ludovic Marin

Besides the G20, which marks the big return of face-to-face multilateral meetings since the outbreak, several bilateral and small committee meetings are also taking place.

‘One of the most eagerly awaited meetings on Saturday afternoon to discuss the resumption of nuclear talks with Iran was a meeting of US Presidents Joe Biden and French Presidents Emmanuel Macron, as well as German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Boris Johnson.

A White House official said he expected a signal-sending announcement from the meeting Unity These four countries on this issue But it also sets the framework we trust as a way forward.

The Argentine president, Alberto Fernandez, for his part, launched a diplomatic offensive and stepped up bilateral meetings with European leaders, with full talks resuming talks with the director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) late in the afternoon. Debt of the South American nation.

Emmanuel Macron will have a face-to-face discussion with Boris Johnson on Sunday morning as the channel rages between Paris and London over fishing rights. He later said Saturday Do not exclude Activate for the first time the conflict resolution tool provided for post-Brexit agreements with the EU.