'Implementation of global tax code will be the key'

Globally, 143 countries are negotiating for a new global tax code that aims to put a minimum rate of corporate income tax and eliminate the low and zero-tax regime.

What has been the progress on worldwide negotiations to bring out a global minimum corporate income tax and zero or low-tax jurisdictions?

I would say the progress has been quite encouraging so far. The negotiations are part of a journey to modernise the global tax agenda, which had hitherto dealt with more traditional businesses to now cover new business models as well, including digital ones. They have been going on for more than two years but we are now in the final stages of this process. When it's done, this will be one of the biggest changes in the tax landscape in more than a hundred years. It has been quite an effort to convince 143 countries, including the United States (US), to take part in this journey. The European Union has announced it will move this tax regime forward. We've also got countries like the United Kingdom (UK) that have implemented the new tax code. But then we will have to see what kind of steps other major countries are taking.

How will this affect the world's leading multinationals, which earn most of their revenues and profits in North America and Western Europe but are headquartered in low-tax jurisdictions such as Ireland?