Washington (AFP)

The IMF on Tuesday praised the US proposal for a global tax "of at least" 15% on the profits of multinationals, stressing that this should allow countries to invest more in essential areas such as education, health or infrastructure.

"There was a proposal for a tax of up to a rate of 21%. The figure should be a little lower than that," said Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund in a conversation with the Washington Post.

But any rate above the current tax, which in many countries is "10% or even less, will be beneficial," she added.

She recalled that the IMF has long been in favor of such an imposition on a global scale.

"Why? Because there is no race to the bottom and less race for tax evasion, this means more money in state coffers to invest in education and health, infrastructure , the digital sector, all the useful areas (...) in which we must invest more ", she detailed.

The boss of the IMF however recognized that the imposition of such a tax was particularly complex since it is a question of finding a consensus on "the ideal point", that which is beneficial to the world economy while being satisfactory for the tax authorities of each country.

The idea of ​​a global tax on the profits of multinationals is old, with a first agreement to launch such an initiative announced in 2015 in Lima by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development during the IMF's fall meetings.

Discussions continue to take place under the aegis of the OECD.

The Trump administration had largely blocked the process.

But the new Democratic administration seems to want to accelerate the discussions.

And, last week, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced support for a rate of at least 15%.

This tax should be discussed this week and next week at meetings of finance ministers.

Mrs. Georgieva underlined on Tuesday the complexity of the file because once the appropriate rate has been determined, it will still have to be applied and the money collected.

"We must support the markets of developing countries to strengthen their tax administration, because having a tax rate without collection does not solve the problem of public finances," she commented.

The IMF leader also stressed that in the reform of the international taxation of other companies, the aspect relating to the digital giants was just as important.

According to her, introducing global taxation in this sector will prove to be "more effective", and will be "a positive impetus for growth" and "to fight against inequalities".

The OECD reform plans to modulate corporate tax according to the profits made in each country, regardless of their tax establishment.

This second point targets in particular the American giants including Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple, which pay taxes often unrelated to the income and profits they generate locally.

The OECD wants to obtain an agreement during the G20 Finance on July 9 and 10.

© 2021 AFP