LONDON—The U.K. is open to U.S. proposals for a global minimum corporate-tax rate, provided that it goes hand-in hand with a fairer split of the tax take from U.S. tech giants, U.K. Treasury Chief Rishi Sunak said.
Mr. Sunak’s remarks Tuesday at The Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council Summit highlight the potential for agreement on global tax rules in stop-start talks among dozens of nations that are scheduled to wrap up this year.
Talks had floundered for years and were disrupted by the pandemic, but received fresh impetus last month when the Biden administrationoffered new proposals on taxing multinationals based on their size and profits.
The discussions are being held under the umbrella of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Consensus isn’t guaranteed, with small countries such as Ireland voicing concern that they would be at a disadvantage to larger economies if they couldn’t compete on tax.
Mr. Sunak said London is receptive to a U.S. proposal to set a minimum corporate tax rate world-wide to limit the opportunity for globe-trotting multinationals to minimize their tax bills by basing themselves in low-tax jurisdictions, even if most of their activities are carried out elsewhere.
