- Ireland, Estonia and Hungary drop opposition to deal
- Global accord ensures big firms pay 15% minimum tax rate
- Some developing countries, U.S. Republicans sceptical
PARIS, Oct 8 (Reuters) – A group of 136 countries on Friday set a minimum global tax rate of 15% for big companies and sought to make it harder for them to avoid taxation in a landmark deal that U.S. President Joe Biden said levelled the playing field.
The deal aims to end a four-decade-long “race to the bottom” by setting a floor for countries that have sought to attract investment and jobs by taxing multinational companies lightly, effectively allowing them to shop around for low tax rates.
The 15% floor agreed to is, however, well below a corporate tax rate which averages around 23.5% in industrialised countries.
Some developing countries that had wanted a higher rate said their interests had been sidelined to accommodate richer nations, while NGOs criticized the deal’s many…