- G7 Finance Ministers Reach Agreement on Global Corporate Tax
- Huge Bitcoin Step from El Salvador
- Biden Proposed to Limit China’s Participation in World Trade
G7 Finance Ministers Reach Agreement on Global Corporate Tax
In the statement made by the British government, it was stated that the finance ministers of the G7 countries held a two-day meeting in London under the chairmanship of the British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak.
In the statement, it was stated that, as a result of the meeting, the finance ministers of the G7 countries agreed in principle that multinational companies should be subject to at least 15% global taxation in every country where they operate, and it was also noted that it was accepted that companies should make climate impact reporting on their investment decisions.
“After years of discussion, G7 finance ministers have reached a historic agreement to reform the global tax system to make it fit for the global digital age,” British finance minister Rishi Sunak told reporters.
“The G7 Finance Ministers have made a significant, unprecedented commitment today that provides tremendous momentum towards achieving a robust global minimum tax at a rate of at least 15%,’” said US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
“It will change the world,” said German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz of the deal, which will target tech giants like Amazon and Microsoft.
For years, wealthy countries have struggled to agree on a means to generate more income from huge multinational corporations like Google, Amazon, and Facebook, which commonly record profits in jurisdictions where they pay little or no tax.
“We welcome the important progress,” Nick Clegg, Facebook’s vice president of global affairs, tweeted after the agreement was announced, adding “this could mean Facebook paying more tax, and in different places”.
Google also reacted on Saturday, saying it supported the work done to update international tax rules.
“We strongly support the work being done to update international tax rules. We hope countries continue to work together to ensure a balanced and durable agreement will be finalized soon,” Google spokesman José Castañeda said in an emailed statement.
Huge Bitcoin Step from El Salvador
El Salvador is preparing to adopt the cryptocurrency Bitcoin as the national currency in the country. If the plan is supported by congress, the Central American country will be the first in the world to officially adopt a digital currency.
“In the short term this will generate jobs and help provide financial inclusion to thousands outside the formal economy,” Bukele said in a video shown at the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami.
El Salvador’s President said he will send the law to Congress next week, the BBC reported. The president said that if the law is passed, it will provide financial services to 70% of unbanked Salvadorans and be used alongside the dollar, the country’s official currency.
Bukele continued the discussion in a Twitter thread, where he said that bitcoin has a market cap of $680 billion dollars. “If 1% of it is invested in El Salvador, that would increase our GDP by 25%,” he said. “On the other hand, bitcoin will have 10 million potential new users and the fastest growing way to transfer 6 billion dollars a year in remittances.”
The leader said he would partner with digital-wallet company Strike to build the necessary financial infrastructure, using bitcoin technology.
Speaking about the announcement, Strike’s CEO and founder, Jack Mallers, said: “Adopting a natively digital currency as legal tender provides El Salvador the most secure, efficient and globally integrated open payments network in the world.”
Biden Proposed to Limit China’s Participation in World Trade
US President Joe Biden said China should not be involved in the development of global trade and technology rules.
“On Wednesday, I depart for Europe on the first foreign trip of my presidency. It is a trip stacked with meetings with many of our closest democratic partners — including the Group of Seven nations, our NATO allies and the leadership of the European Union — before concluding by meeting with Vladimir Putin. In this moment of global uncertainty, as the world still grapples with a once-in-a-century pandemic, this trip is about realizing America’s renewed commitment to our allies and partners, and demonstrating the capacity of democracies to both meet the challenges and deter the threats of this new age, ” Biden said in a Washington Post article.
‘’While in Brussels, I’ll meet with the president of the European Commission and the president of the European Council to discuss how the United States and Europe can work in close coordination on global challenges. We will focus on ensuring that market democracies, not China or anyone else, write the 21st-century rules around trade and technology. And we will continue to pursue the goal of a Europe whole, free and at peace,’’ Biden added.
The US President also wrote that “the world’s major democracies will offer a high-standard alternative to China for upgrading physical, digital, and healthcare infrastructure that is more resilient and supports global development.”
Besides, the Biden administration is seeking a more comprehensive and in-depth strategy to compete with China, Chinese experts said, after US President Joe Biden blocked 59 Chinese companies with ties to China’s military or in the surveillance industry, including Huawei Technologies and the country’s three biggest telecommunications companies, according to Bloomberg.
The ban on new investments will take effect August 2. Investors will have one year to divest.
China vowed to take necessary measures to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies, in response to media reports that Biden plans to add more Chinese companies on a blacklist created by his predecessor.
