Yellen says US pushing G20 for global minimum corporate tax

A measure of US services industry activity surged to a record high in March amid robust growth in new orders; Global stock prices rose to a 1 1/2-month high after data showed a surge in US employment

The United States is pushing in the G20 for agreement on a global minimum corporate tax to stem the erosion of government revenues, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Monday.

Just days after President Joe Biden announced plans to raise corporate taxes to finance a massive $2 trillion infrastructure and jobs programme, Yellen said a collective international effort would end the “race to the bottom” on taxation.

“Together we can use a global minimum tax to make sure the global economy thrives based on a more level playing field in the taxation of multinational corporations,” she said in a prepared speech to The Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

The interconnected global economy has led to “a thirty-year race to the bottom on corporate tax rates.” But for companies and economies to remain competitive, governments must make sure they “have stable tax systems that raise sufficient revenue to invest in essential public goods and respond to crises, and that all citizens fairly share the burden of financing government.” “President Biden’s proposals announced last week call for bold domestic action, including to raise the US minimum tax rate, and renewed international engagement, recognizing that it is important to work with other countries to end the pressures of tax competition and corporate tax base erosion,” Yellen said.