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| United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen |
BRUSSELS, May 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called on European Union countries to speed up the implementation of a landmark global tax deal after repeated delays.
The EU and the US “must show leadership” and adopt the tax agreement more quickly, Yellen said in a speech in Brussels on a visit to get the process back on track.
In October 2021, the EU, the US and some 130 countries signed off a major agreement coordinated by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for a 15% minimum global corporation tax rate.
Large corporations with revenue exceeding €750 million ($847 million) under the deal have to agree in the future to pay the minimum tax rate regardless of their operations base.
The second part of the agreement requires major multinational companies to pay more tax where profits are generated rather than where the companies are based.
However, this part is still subject to international negotiations and progress on adopting the 15% tax rate in the EU has stalled after Poland raised objections to implementation plans.
Warsaw is the lone holdout in EU negotiations and has called for the EU to adopt both parts of the framework together rather than successively. Unanimity on tax matters is required in the EU to pass legislation.
Yellen also called on the EU to step up financial support to Ukraine amid the Russian invasion. Ukraine’s economic needs after the war would be similar to Europe’s in 1945 after World War II, she said. — NNN-AGENCIES
