Merz is calling for the global minimum tax for corporations!

Merz is calling for the global minimum tax for corporations!

The Stadel is buzzing, and the political discussion about the global minimum tax is picking up. Chancellor Friedrich Merz recently spoken out for the suspension of this tax for large corporations in Europe. This happened after a meeting with the Bavarian cabinet on the Zugspitze, where he shared the opinion of Bavaria's finance minister Albert Füracker. According to Füracker, maintaining the minimum taxation in Europe does not make sense, since it is only effective if all major global actors are on board, and this is currently not the case. As stated in the G7 decision, the United States has excluded from the application of the minimum tax, which the EU presents a difficult challenge.

"We need a strategy change so as not to send the European economy into the Bütt," said Füracker, warning that a strict maintenance of minimum taxation would only lead to a disadvantage of European companies. He asked the federal government to work for a temporary suspension of the EU minimum taxation directive at the EU. This position is supported by Merz, which fuels the discussion again.

a complicated game

For Germany's chancellor, the global minimum tax is a detached place. He explained that the conditions for such a tax in the current international situation were not given. The US back from this agreement, as from [Radiobielefeld] (https://www.radiobielefeld.de/index.php?id=1593&l=..&tx_news_pi1%5Bnews%5D=493670&tx _NEWS_PI1%5BController%5D = news & tx_news_pi1%5baction%5D = detail & chash = 6ceb457960fd2974eb915ce6d74de13) reports, it makes it difficult to continue with the existing regulations. US President Donald Trump had declared minimum tax as not enforceable, and the White House considered the global tax agreement as an interference with national sovereign rights about finance and taxes.

While the G7 countries are struggling with a compromise-with the aim that US companies are excluded from the global minimum tax-it can be seen that these companies are still under a parallel US system of tax liability. This raises questions: How should European companies deal with this inequality? Federal Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD) has welcomed the compromise and sees progress in the fight against tax flight and tax dumping, which will far from complete the debate about tax policy.

look ahead

The current situation shows that the United States no longer stands in the way of global minimum taxation and that planned punitive measures against European companies are no longer relevant. Nevertheless, it remains to be seen how the legal framework between the OECD and US light taxes will develop. The questions are numerous and the solutions are anything but obvious. An ongoing discussion seems inevitable.

What remains is the hope that all actors will pull together to develop a fair and functioning control system that benefits the large companies, but also to the small companies. In the end, there could be a fair solution on the table that strengthens both the European economy and meets international requirements.

More details and backgrounds on the topic can be found at Spiegel.