US exits global tax deal targeting large multinational profits

The United States has formally withdrawn from a major agreement to impose a 15 per cent global minimum tax rate on large, multinational companies. 

This move could have major international ripples, including in Malta, and could place the very future of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)’s agreement in doubt.

Donald Trump announced his intention to withdraw the US from the agreement shortly after his re-election to the presidency at the start of last year. 

The OECD’s finalised plan this week excludes large US-based multinationals, a move that was welcomed by the US Treasury as a “historic move in preserving US sovereignty and protecting American workers and businesses from extraterritorial overreach”.

Attention will now shift to whether other countries will reconsider their positions vis-a-vis the OECD deal now that the US is no longer part of it.

Malta’s Finance Minister Clyde Caruana said last November that there is growing discontent among several EU member states now that the minimum tax agreement is no longer a global effort.

Featured Image: The White House / X