The head of state welcomed Joe Biden’s proposal to impose a 21% minimum tax on multinational corporations, however, believing that “tax justice is a long way from American tax justice, which is similar to Europe.”

Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that Joe Biden’s proposal to impose a minimum tax of 21% on multinational corporations had been “caught up” to French and European positions, but until then the ambition was low. “I am just happy that the United States is following us on what we are proposing, and it has been blocking them for years,” he told the OECD at a European summit in Porto.

“When it comes to the taxation of big companies, these are the proposals we put forward by the French people that we, as Europeans, have taken forward and blocked by our American friends in the OECD,” he added. “If they are willing to come there, we will end this summer, which is great, because the United States may have held us back from our position,” the president continued.

“I have to go a long way”

France, which plans to raise corporate income taxes to 28% and reduce them to 25% by 2022, has asked the OECD to establish an international tax system for multinational corporations, with profits as low as 12.5%, as in Ireland. The OECD wants to reach a global agreement on the G20 finance in principle on July 9 and 10, followed by a final meeting in October.

“But when it comes to taxing the rich and businesses, comparing what exists and what exists after this reform, American tax justice, which is similar to European tax justice, still has a long way to go,” the French president said.