EU backs U.S. call for global minimum corporate tax, but rate to be decided – Reuters

EU backs U.S. call for global minimum corporate tax, but rate to be decided – Reuters

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission backed on Tuesday a call from U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen for a global minimum corporate tax, but said its rate should be decided in talks in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).FILE PHOTO: Janet Yellen speaks at a news conference in Washington, U.S. December 13, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File PhotoYellen said on Monday she was working with G20 countries to agree on a global corporate minimum tax rate to end a “thirty-year race to the bottom on corporate tax rates”.The U.S. plan envisages a 21% minimum corporate tax rate, coupled with eliminating exemptions on income from countries that do not enact a minimum tax to discourage the shifting of jobs and profits overseas.“We remain committed to ensuring that all businesses, including digital ones, pay their fair share of tax, where it is rightfully due,” European Commission spokesman Dan Ferrie told a news briefing when asked about the U.S. proposal.The OECD has long been working on two-pillar global taxation scheme, originally meant mainly for digital giants like Google, Amazon, Facebook or Apple, to tax companies where they make profits even if they do not have a physical presence there.The second pillar of