“We have reached a historic agreement for a more stable and just international tax system“. The finance ministers and the governors of the G20, after two days of meetings, implemented the agreement reached on 1 July by the OECD on the global minimum tax, a worldwide tax of 15% on multinationals and on the redistribution of the competence to tax large groups, starting with the big names in Hi-Tech. The goal is ambitious: fight tax avoidance and tax havens. According to the intentions, the global tax should come into force in 2023, guaranteeing a global revenue of 150 billion dollars, the redistribution of profits should bring another 100 billion.
THE WORDS OF FRANCO
Finance ministers and G20 governors have reached a "very important agreement, some of my colleagues said historic, in which we support the main components" of the plan for taxing multinationals with a minimum tax and a sharing of profits among the countries where these operate. This was stated by the Minister of Economy, Daniele Franco, during the press conference held at the end of the G20 under the Italian presidency in Venice. "For the first time we are setting global rules for the taxation of large multinationals", Franco underlined, according to which the global tax "should stop reducing the margins for tax competition and lead to a fairer and more coordinated global tax system". With the agreement, "tax competition is not abolished but regulated in some way", he specified, also explaining that the intention is to "implement the agreed mechanisms at the G20 level of government leaders at the end of October".
During the meetings, the ministers and Governors also undertook to continue the monetary and fiscal stimulus measures "for as long as necessary to sustain the recovery" and to "avoid a premature withdrawal" of the measures, concluded the minister.
VISCO STATEMENTS
"Vaccination is important, but the transition is even more so, we must be ready to achieve objectives for a normality that will not be the same", said the Governor of the Bank of Italy, Ignazio Visco, in the final press conference of the G20 economy of Venice. "We have to adapt - added the number one of via Nazionale - but with awareness, with awareness and in agreement to work together in uncharted waters and under observation".
THE NEXT STEPS
After the green light from the G20, there will be time until October to define the technical details and to convince the opposing countries (7 out of 139 OECD states) to sign the agreement. Among the Nos there are also three European countries: Ireland, Estonia and Hungary. In the meantime, some states, including Germany, the USA and France, will try to put pressure on the 15% rate to be raised to a higher level (Joe Biden's initial proposal envisaged a 21% rate), thus such as the share of profit reallocation: "20% does not seem enough, 30% could be too much, therefore the French proposal is to reach a consensus of 25%". As for the other aspect, that of the global minimum rate, "I strongly believe that 15% is not enough, we must do more and France, with some relevant G20 partners, is aiming for more than 15%", said the French finance minister, Bruno Le Maire.
CLIMATE AND VACCINES
The Big Twenty, reads the final release, have also agreed "on the use, if appropriate, of a mechanism for fixing the price of CO2 emissions and incentives", recognizing carbon pricing as a useful tool in the fight against climate change.
“We will continue to support the recovery – continues the document – avoiding any early withdrawal of support measures, while remaining consistent with the mandates of the Central Bank, including on price stability, and preserve financial stability and fiscal sustainability in the long term term and safeguard it from downside risks and negative spillovers”.
Another important point in the text concerns the creation of a task force made up of the World Bank, the World Health Organization, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization for "vaccines, therapies and diagnoses in developing countries" and for respond to the "urgent need to be more prepared" for pandemics. “We will give priority to accelerating the delivery of vaccines, diagnoses and therapies” especially in disadvantaged countries and we will give “answers to react quickly to new variants”.
CLASHES IN THE SQUARE
About 1.000 demonstrators joined the protest organized by the No Grandi Navi movement against the G20 on the economy. Bottles, smoke bombs and fireworks were thrown during the demonstration. The group at the head of the procession tried to break through the "wall" created by the policemen positioned at the foot of the Accademia Bridge, to prevent the demonstration from reaching the Arsenale. The police, in riot gear, responded with two charges, dispersing the participants.
