Ireland says agreement on global minimum corporate tax rate still uncertain

Ireland’s finance minister on Tuesday said it remains to be seen if states participating in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) corporate tax talks can agree a global minimum rate.

A call on Monday for such a rate by U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was quickly backed by Germany and France.

Paschal Donohoe said the catalysts for corporate tax change had been “supercharged” by the COVID-19 pandemic, but that smaller countries like Ireland would voice their concerns at the OECD.

“The focus on a global minimum tax rate is a prospect that I do have reservations about … on what would be the impact of that on the competitiveness for smaller and medium-sized economies that do have lower rates of corporate taxation and use that as part of their overall competitive model,” Donohoe told a news conference.

(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Kevin Liffey)