G7 exempts US multinationals from global minimum tax

G7 member states announced Saturday their intention to exempt American multinationals from the global minimum tax, arguing that they are already taxed in the United States.

An agreement was reached due to “recently proposed changes to the US international tax regime” in President Donald Trump’s mega-budget bill, still under discussion in the US Senate, the G7 said in a statement on Saturday.

Instead of the minimum tax, American multinationals would be subject to a “juxtaposed system”, they say in the document, cited by the French news agency AFP.

This “will facilitate further progress towards stabilizing the international tax system” and “preserving the tax sovereignty of all countries,” the G7 adds.

Nearly 140 countries concluded an agreement on the taxation of multinationals in 2021, negotiated under the auspices of the OECD.

This agreement, criticized by Donald Trump, includes two “pillars”, the second establishing a minimum global quota of 15%.

The decision on whether or not to exempt American companies from paying this tax will be up to the OECD.

“We hope to quickly reach a solution that is acceptable and implementable by all,” the G7 emphasizes in the statement.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent assured last Thursday that such an agreement, “which defends American interests”, would be concluded between the G7 countries.

Scott Bessent also called on US lawmakers to remove a measure from Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill" that would allow the government to impose taxes on companies whose owners are not American, as well as on investors from countries that impose taxes deemed unfair on American companies.

This clause, seen as a retaliatory measure, raised many concerns, with many believing it would deter foreign companies from investing in the United States.