London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 09, 2025

G7 nations close to historic deal to tax tech giants in plan that would 'change the world', says German finance minister

G7 nations close to historic deal to tax tech giants in plan that would 'change the world', says German finance minister

The plan to reform the taxation of tech firms and bring in a minimum level for business tax rates would "change the world".

The world's leading economies are on the brink of announcing a historic deal to tax the tech giants, the German finance minister has told Sky News.

Olaf Scholz said the plan to reform the taxation of tech companies and introduce a minimum level for business tax rates would "change the world", bringing in billions of pounds in tax revenue which would otherwise have been shifted to low tax countries.

The comments came as ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) industrialised economies met in London for the first such face-to-face summit since the onset of COVID-19 over a year ago.

In part because of pressure from the Biden White House and US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen, the G7 ministers are understood to be on the brink of announcing an unprecedented set of reforms.

The plan would help combat profit shifting, where companies - including tech giants and multinational brands - can shift profits to low tax jurisdictions.

The deal entails two "pillars": First, there will be special rules to change how much tax some large companies will pay, and where those taxes are paid.

Hitherto business taxes were based purely on company profits; in future a chunk of those taxes will be calculated based on sales.

The second pillar involves the creation of a global minimum corporate tax rate, designed to encourage countries not to cut their business tax rate below 15%.

Speaking on the fringes of the London meeting between the US, UK, Japanese, German, French, Italian and Canadian finance ministers, Mr Scholz said: "That we've made progress on both pillars is what we have worked on so hard.

"It looks as if we will now make it, and it will change the world.

"We've worked very hard in the last few years to make progress step by step, we discussed with many people and many experts on this question and with many other countries, but now we are at a stage where an agreement is feasible.

"This is a historic moment, and it will help us to do our job: to serve our people. It's about fairness and justice."

Chancellor Rishi Sunak at a meeting of finance ministers from across the G7 nations


Asked about the implications of a deal for the tax revenues of developed countries, which some experts calculate could be boosted by many billions as profits are shifted back from tax havens, Mr Scholz said: "This will help finance our countries.

"We will profit very much from an agreement like this. But it's also a starting point for more fairness - that's what this is what it is about."

According to others close to the negotiations, the technical talks are still ongoing, with "sherpas" from G7 nations expected to carry on discussing details through the night.

However, Mr Scholz's comments represent the clearest sign yet that the G7 is likely to seal a deal on tax avoidance on Saturday.

That deal would be highly significant since it would encourage finance ministers from other, smaller countries to sign up to the deal.

But, there are some nations - most notably Ireland - which are holding out.

With its 12.5% corporate tax rate, Ireland would be directly affected by the global minimum rate, and would have to decide whether to increase its level or to face penalties from those economies committing to the new pact.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
China Unveils Sweeping Rare Earth Export Controls to Shield ‘National Security’
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
×