G20 agree plan needed to tackle technology giants' taxes
Microsoft, Apple, Amazon and Alphabet could be set for a expensive visit from tax authorities across the developed world.
Monday 10 June 2019 12:38, UK
G20 members have agreed on the need for an international regime on the taxation of multinational tech companies such as Facebook and Google.
The agreement on developing the regime is the first step towards imposing higher taxes on tech companies including Microsoft, Apple, Amazon and Alphabet.
New proposals to address "the tax challenges arising from the digitalisation of the economy" were published on Sunday and members agreed to agree on them by 2020.
The key aim of the proposals is to see companies which make money online pay more tax in the jurisdictions where the money is made, even if they don't have a physical presence there.
Companies which continue to route their profits through tax havens could be targeted with a global minimum tax rate.
In both the UK and France, the governments have planned to introduce digital services taxes based on domestic sales rather than business profits.
But the US treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin warned that the US had "significant concerns" with these plans as they could lead to double taxation.
The financial secretaries of both the UK and France said these taxes would be scrapped once the G20 agreed on a common international approach.