ROME (Fwrd Axis) — President Joe Biden began his first day at the Group of 20 Summit (G20) in Rome on Saturday and kicked it off with a big win, getting an endorsement on a deal for a 15% global minimum tax from world leaders.
The leaders reached a deal on a minimum tax on global corporations, including Apple, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft.
“The President emphasized the importance of this historic deal during his intervention,” a senior administration official told FWRD AXIS News. “The President also mentioned that while we don’t see eye to eye on every issue, we can tackle shared interests.”
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the deal would help more U.S. businesses and workers in the long run once the deal is put into place. The conclusions are expected to be formally adopted on Sunday, the final day of the summit.
Each country will put forward its own version of the tax and it could take time to implement worldwide. Over 136 countries agreed to the move back in October and Saturday’s deal among the G20 nations is a step forward to worldwide implementation.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said the deal is proof of the power of multilateralism.
“We reached a historic agreement for a fairer and more effective international tax system,” Draghi said. “These results are a powerful reminder of what we can achieve together.”
The new move will see companies pay taxes in the countries where they do business at a minimum rate of 15%. Last week, Biden unveiled the framework for his massive spending package and part of that will help part of the global minimum tax scheme.
However, Biden landed in Rome early Friday morning without a deal from Democrats back home. It put into question Biden’s ability to rally foreign leaders but the White House downplayed that last week.
“There’s a complicated process in any democracy to do anything as ambitious as we’re pursuing in our domestic agenda,” the senior administration official said. “These are multigenerational investments and, of course, we’re trying to reform the tax code to pay for it. And so, you know, I think there’s going to be a broad understanding that takes time.”
Biden also met with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday. Among the topics discussed were the Covid-19 pandemic, global supply chain problems, and the global climate crisis.
“The President stressed the need for balanced, well-supplied, and competitive global energy markets so we don’t undermine this critical moment of economic recovery,” the official said.
Late Saturday Biden and First Lady Jill Biden attended a gala dinner with European Union Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen and President Sergio Mattarella of Italy.
