London Daily

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

‘Historic’ global tax deal on multinationals delayed until 2024

‘Historic’ global tax deal on multinationals delayed until 2024

Some doubt the OECD-brokered agreement, which would levy more tax on the world’s largest firms, will ever be implemented
An international deal that would force the world’s biggest multinational companies to pay a fair share of tax has been delayed until 2024 amid fresh wrangling over the painstakingly negotiated agreement.

Mathias Cormann, the secretary-general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), told the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that there were “difficult discussions” taking place that meant the deal could not come into force in 2023, as previously hoped.

Cormann said he remained confident an agreement would eventually be implemented to let countries levy more tax on the world’s largest firms based on the sales generated within their borders.

But the US billionaire investor, David Rubenstein, co-chairman of the Carlyle group, said he doubted whether the OECD-brokered deal would ever happen. “Global tax deals sound great but getting them implemented is very difficult,” he told a Davos session before Cormann’s comments.

The deal – which Cormann called “historic and very important” – has two parts. Pillar 1 involves the reallocation of some profits from major multinationals such as US tech companies to countries where they made their sales, while Pillar 2 brings in a global minimum corporation tax rate of 15%.

Cormann said there were “still some difficult discussions under way with relation to the technical aspects” of Pillar 1.

“We deliberately set a very ambitious timeline for implementation to keep the pressure on and we think that has helped keep the momentum going.

“But I suspect it is probably most likely that we will end up with a practical implementation from 2024 onwards.”

Pillar 1 is facing opposition in the US Congress from Republican senators, and analysts have suggested the deal could fall if the Democrats lose control of the House of Representatives in November’s midterm elections. Rubenstein said he thought the agreement would not happen even if the Democrats keep control of the House.

Cormann refused to comment on political issues, but said the OECD deal would be better for US multinational companies than a proliferation of different tax regimes overseas if countries tried to individually make them pay a fair share.

He was also “very encouraged by the progress” on Pillar 2, and hopeful that EU members will agree to back it. Pillar 1 requires an international treaty to be agreed, while Pillar 2 is implemented through domestic legislation.

Cormann said that once there was a critical mass of countries imposing a minimum level of corporate tax on profits generated in their jurisdictions, it would be very hard for other countries not to follow.

He explained: “Essentially you leave money on the table for other countries to collect, if you don’t align yourself to that global standard.”

James Murray MP, Labour’s shadow financial secretary to the Treasury, said news of the delaywas “incredibly disappointing”.

“Without this deal being in place, we risk missing out on the chance to bring billions of pounds currently lost to large multinationals’ tax dodging back to Britain,” he added.

“The Chancellor needs to use his position to urgently get people back round the negotiating table, and do all he can to make sure this landmark deal is delivered.”

Poland has been holding back support for the EU’s directive to implement Pillar 2, but French finance minister, Bruno Le Maire, said on Tuesday he was confident an agreement would be reached.
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
×