Government is committed to global minimum tax despite the emergency exit from the United States

Under Donald Trump, the United States has withdrawn from international agreements for minimum taxation of multinational large corporations. In 2021, more than 130 countries under the roof of OECD and G20 had agreed to introduce a global minimum taxation of 15 percent. This should prevent corporations from pressing their profits to zero with a clever reallocation.

At the request of the LSAP, the Chamber of deputy discussed on Thursday, which consequences result in Luxembourg. For the former Economics Minister Franz Fayot (LSAP), the « revolutionary agreement » represents a « milestone of the international tax landscape ». He therefore demanded that the US withdrawal are not taken as an excuse in order to question it. As early as December 2023, the parliament had transferred the agreement to national law. More than 50 other countries, including heavyweights such as Japan, Great Britain and Brazil, have also done this.

Unanimity in tax issues

At the time of the vote, the Ministry of Finance assumed that up to 7,500 companies in Luxembourg might fall under the regulation. Finance Minister Gilles Roth (CSV) made it clear that the Luxembourg government continues to represent the position, the rules of the agreement in the EU and beyond.

But he also emphasized that there should be a « level playing field », so the same conditions should apply to everyone. It should prevent the United States from completing bilateral tax conventions with individual member states. Since unanimity is required in tax issues in the EU, there could be adjustments to the rules. Therefore, at the moment he could not say in all points what the position of the Luxembourg government is. « Of course, that also depends on the position of the other governments, » he says.