The U.S. Treasury Thursday proposed a minimum global corporate tax rate of 15%.
The treasury announced the proposal in a statement.
It said the plan came as part of discussions with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and G20 officials over the past two days.
“As part of those meetings, discussions on the global corporate minimum tax rate began in earnest,” the U.S. Treasury said in a statement.
During the discussions “Treasury expressed its belief that the international tax architecture must be stabilized, that the global playing field must be fair, and that we must create an environment in which countries work together to maintain our tax bases and ensure the global tax system is equitable and equipped to meet the needs of for the 21st century global economy,” the statement said.
“A global corporate minimum tax rate would ensure the global economy thrives based on a more level playing field in the taxation of multinational corporations, and would spur innovation, growth, and prosperity while improving fairness for middle class and working people,” the statement added.
The U.S. proposal is that a global minimum tax rate should be at least 15%. “Treasury underscored that 15% is a floor and that discussions should continue to be ambitious and push that rate higher,” according to the statement.
U.S. President Joe Biden made seeking higher tax payments from large corporations a priority during his campaign and subsequently in pushing for approval of his economic proposals in Congress.
Many large U.S. companies avoid or reduce their taxes by setting up headquarters in tax haven countries such as Ireland and the Cayan Islands.
