VENICE, Italy: Top finance officials from the Group of 20 major economies Saturday reached broad agreement on a proposed sweeping overhaul of international rules on corporate tax.

The G20 finance ministers and central bank governors, meeting in Venice, northern Italy, endorsed an outline of proposed corporate tax reform released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on July 1.

“We endorse the key components” of the proposed revision that includes imposing a global minimum corporate levy of at least 15 percent to deter tax competition aimed at attracting companies, the G20 officials said in a joint statement.

The statement, released by the G20 officials after the end of their two-day meeting, said they “have achieved a historic agreement on a more stable and fairer international tax architecture.”

Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso welcomed the G20’s endorsement of the reform. “This is a historic change that is the first of its kind in about 100 years. We welcome it very well,” he said at a press conference after the meeting.

The OECD released the outline after about 130 of its 139 member economies supported it. The G20 officials called on the OECD members “that have not yet joined the international agreement to do so.”

The G20 finance ministers and central bank governors asked the OECD to swiftly address remaining issues. The OECD aims to finalize a detailed implementation plan in October to put it into place in 2023.

On the global economy, the G20 officials said its recovery “remains exposed to downside risks, in particular the spread of new variants of the COVID-19 virus and different paces of vaccination.”

The officials said, “We reaffirm our resolve to use all available policy tools for as long as required to address the adverse consequences of COVID-19, especially on the most impacted, such as women, youth and informal and low-skilled workers.”

The G20 officials also called for attention to inflationary pressure from the economic recovery. “We will continue to sustain the recovery, avoiding any premature withdrawal of support measures, while remaining consistent with central bank mandates–including on price stability.”

The officials said that tackling climate change remains an urgent priority. They called for a mix of policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including the use of carbon pricing mechanisms and incentives.

JIJI Press