G7 finance ministers deal to tax tech giants good for Canadian businesses: Freeland

By The Canadian Press

LONDON — Federal finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says a G7 deal to tax multinational tech corporations is good for Canada and its businesses.

Freeland, who is also deputy prime minister, says in a tweet from London that the agreement announced Saturday after a meeting of finance ministers from some of the world’s wealthiest countries will ensure a “fair and level playing field” for Canadian businesses in the global economy.

The ministers also agreed to support a global minimum corporate tax rate of at least 15% in order to deter multinational companies from avoiding taxes by stashing profits in low-rate countries.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the agreement provides momentum to reaching a global 15 per cent rate that “would end the race-to-the-bottom in corporate taxation.”

The endorsement from the G7 could help build momentum for a deal among more than 140 countries as well as a Group of 20 finance ministers set to meet in July.

The meeting of G7 finance ministers came ahead of the annual summit of G7 leaders scheduled June 11-13 in Carbis Bay, Cornwall.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 5, 2021.

— With files from The Associated Press

The Canadian Press

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