The Guardian view on global corporate tax: a $500bn prize that states must seize | Editorial
Donald Trump may reject the negotiations, but he cannot veto a global effort to make multinational companies answer to governments Governments are told that public services must shrink because money is tight. Yet a new Tax Justice Network report says that countries could capture an extra $500bn a year without raising corporate tax rates. The answer is to tax multinational profits where real…
The world's governments are urging a shift in how multinational corporations are taxed, arguing that an extra $500 billion could be generated annually without increasing corporate tax rates. This proposal, backed by the Tax Justice Network, suggests that taxes should be levied on multinational profits where they are generated, a concept known as unitary taxation.
This approach would move revenue from tax havens, where profits are often "booked," to the countries where actual economic activity takes place, such as where workers produce goods and customers spend money.
The initiative is being shaped by upcoming United Nations talks set to begin in New York on Monday. The UN is aiming to establish a global tax standard modeled on the UN climate regime, creating a governing body and procedures through a fiscal framework convention. Protocols would then provide the detailed rules. The UN hopes to reach an agreement by late 2027. Despite Donald Trump's US withdrawing from last year's negotiations and urging others to do the same, none have followed suit.
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