G-20 finance chiefs mull ‘fair tax’ reforms to boost growth

Published On: June 8, 2019 09:00 AM NPT By: Associated Press

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, right, delivers a speech during the G20 Ministerial Symposium on International Taxation in the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in Fukuoka, southern Japan Saturday, June 8, 2019. Finance chiefs of the Group of 20 major economies meeting in the Japanese city of Fukuoka are debating how to revise tax systems to ensure big companies pay their fair share and support economies as global growth slows. (Toshifumi Kitamura/Pool Photo via AP)

FUKUOKA, June 8: Finance chiefs of the Group of 20 major economies meeting in the Japanese city of Fukuoka debated Saturday over how to revise tax systems to ensure big companies pay their fair share and support economies as global growth slows.

One aim is to prevent a “race to the bottom” by countries trying to lure companies by offering unsustainably and unfairly low tax rates as an incentive.

Ensuring governments capture a fair share of profits from the massive growth of businesses like Facebook and Amazon has grown in importance over the many years the G-20 finance chiefs have been debating reforms aimed at preventing tax evasion and modernizing policies, as financial markets and businesses have been transformed by technology.