What happened to the Rishi Sunak I knew at school?
Yet the largest obstacle will likely come from the US itself, where Biden’s proposals have to gain a two-thirds majority in the Senate. That will require a significant number of Republicans to support them, but there is little sign at present that they are warming to the idea. Speaking for many, Mike Lee from Utah, described the proposals as a tax ‘cartel’ that would prevent independent nations legitimately setting competitive tax rates. Others doubt that countries will abolish their digital services taxes — which is supposed to be a quid pro quo for the minimum corporation tax — and so US companies could find themselves facing two taxes rather than one.
The minimum corporation tax was supposed to mark America’s return to multilateralist agreements after four years of an isolationist Donald Trump. It is far from guaranteed that Joe Biden will be able to call this a success.
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