Over 145 countries agree on update to global minimum tax deal, addressing US concerns

PARIS - More than 145 countries agreed on Jan 5 to amend a 2021 global minimum corporate tax agreement, addressing Washington’s concerns that the rules could penalise US multinational companies.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said the fresh package preserves the 15 per cent global minimum tax framework designed to ensure large multinationals pay a baseline tax wherever they operate.

The update includes simplifications and carve-outs to align US minimum tax laws with global standards, accommodating earlier objections raised by the Trump administration.

OECD head Mathias Cormann said in a statement the arrangement “enhances tax certainty, reduces complexity, and protects tax bases”.

As at October, more than 65 countries had begun

implementing the 2021 global tax deal

, which requires nations to apply a 15 per cent corporate tax or impose a top-up levy on multinationals booking profits in jurisdictions with lower tax rates.

The revised agreement solidifies global backing after the Group of Seven countries, including the US, brokered a deal in June exempting some US companies from parts of the original framework.

A broader agreement, reached on Jan 5 after Washington pressured holdouts to back the updated arrangement, helps stabilise the global deal.

The pact’s future was thrown into doubt in January 2025, when US President Donald Trump criticised the 2021 deal negotiated by the Biden administration, saying it was not applicable in the US.

The Trump administration threatened retaliatory taxes against countries that imposed levies on US firms under the 2021 deal. REUTERS