Let’s hope the G20 delivers on tax, if nothing else

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As the FT reports this morning:

Leaders of the G20 countries meeting in St Petersburg are due to throw their weight behind moves to close corporate tax loopholes and expose tax evaders through greater transparency.

Pascal Saint-Amans, the top tax official at the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, said the meeting was expected to pave the way for the automatic exchange of tax information in what he described as a “very big and significant” development. The European Commission said it would “push for the automatic exchange of information to become the global standard” and support efforts to help ensure its swift implementation.

The meeting is also set to endorse an ambitious plan to close loopholes in the international corporate tax system, which was published by the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in July.

This is, of course, confirmation of what is already known: the Base Erosion and Profits Shifting  programme was published in July and has massive weaknesses in it, but it is better that it gets through the G20 than not, and given what else is happening there it is my hope that there is success on this issue at least.

NB: Note to journalists: I regret I am unavailable for broadcasts today. Several have already asked but I have to attend to the needs of a close relative who is unwell

 


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