The members of the G7 agreed on Saturday on the principle of a global taxation of large multinational companies, to the tune of at least 15%.

This measure, which should be refined at the G20 next July, could come into effect by the end of 2021.

DECRYPTION

This is a great first that the members of the G7 have just achieved by agreeing to tax large international companies, with a tax of at least 15%. On the Bercy side, we say we are satisfied, while specifying that this rate could still evolve. In the entourage of the Minister of the Economy, we welcome "a good start". "For the first time in years, the member states of the G7 are able to define rules for the international system of the 21st century," said Bruno Le Maire in a video posted on his Twitter account. "It is an ambitious agreement. It is an agreement of which France can be proud after four years of combat. France has won. It must fill us with pride," he said.

Here we are !


After 4 years of fighting, a historic agreement has been reached with the G7 member states on minimum taxation on companies and digital giants.


France can be proud!

pic.twitter.com/eIMqjweyjl

- Bruno Le Maire (@BrunoLeMaire) June 5, 2021

Why is this a "historic" agreement? 

"The international community is doing something that the European Union has not achieved. This idea of ​​standardizing corporate taxation within the EU is a necessity that has long been recognized, but we have never managed to find an agreement, ”decrypts economist Nicolas Bouzou from Europe 1, who points to“ the relatively large impetus ”of the United States in this matter.

"Joe Biden is very keen to find tax revenue, especially on the business side," he says.

Who will pay this tax?

This will be aimed at large tech companies, the so-called GAFAs, ie Google, Amazon, Facebook or Twitter.

But not only, there will also be, for example, the big pharmaceutical companies.

With this tax, these big multinationals will have to pay taxes in the countries where they generate value.

"All the G7 countries will have a tax rate on the profits of these companies of at least 15%", adds Nicolas Bouzou.

>>

Find Europe evening weekend in podcast and in replay here 

What are we going to tax?

"It is about recovering tax on profits that have been located in tax havens, so there is an extremely important aspect of tax justice", points out to Europe 1 Pascal Saint-Amans, the director of the OECD.

"Tax revenues will be substantial. For France, I have no specific figure, but we can speak of several billion per year. Globally, it is in the order of 150 billion dollars per year" , adds this economist. 

After this political agreement, what will happen?

Saturday's deal is just a first step. It should still evolve in a month, during the G20 in Venice. We will have to convince China, but also other countries such as Ireland, which is known for its beneficial tax policy for companies. But if the negotiations go well, we could expect a finalized deal by the end of the year.