US Changes Position On Global Digital Tax

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​The United States has changed its position, which has virtually stalled global digital tax talks. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told colleagues in the G20 today that Washington will not insist on setting so called safe shelter.

In the negotiations on the global digital tax under the auspices of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the administration of US President Donald Trump insisted on so called provision of safe shelter. This would, in fact, allow large technology companies to comply with the law only on a voluntary basis.
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Due to US insistence, global tax negotiations have virtually stalled. The idea was to set a minimum tax rate for technology giants by international agreement.
Companies such as Google, Facebook or Amazon currently generate revenue worldwide, and report profits only in a small number of selected countries, mostly those that allow them to pay lower taxes.

The change in U.S. stance is happening in the context of reshaping the policies of Trump’s successor, Joe Biden. The news was immediately welcomed by Germany and France, which now assess that a global agreement is at hand.
"This is a huge step forward on the road to an agreement between the participating countries by the summer," said German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz. French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire also called for an agreement to be reached by the summer. Negotiations must resume immediately, he said.
At a meeting of G20 finance ministers, Yellen also promised that the United States would be strongly active in the talks.

France adopted its own income tax on technology companies in 2019 but froze its collection until the end of 2020 for the duration of OECD negotiations. However, Paris drew on Trump's anger, which even threatened France with tariffs.

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