Implementing a (global?) minimum corporate income tax

Abstract

Seven years have passed since the BEPS Action Plan was launched by the OECD, and Action 1 identified the tax challenges derived from the digitalization of the economy as a relevant area to be addressed. However, no concrete recommendations were delivered and, in an increasingly digitized economy, countries started acting unilaterally. Against this situation, as from January 2019, the stream of work at the OECD has changed and, apparently, a novel era - “BEPS 2.0” - has begun under the slogan of working on a “without prejudice” Almost eight years have passed since the BEPS Action Plan was launched by the OECD and Action 1 identified corporate income tax challenges derived from the digitalization of the economy as a relevant area to be addressed. As from January 2019, the stream of work at the OECD has changed. Apparently, a novel era - “BEPS 2.0” - has begun under the slogan of working on a “without prejudice” basis and a two-pillar approach with the aim of reaching an agreement on a global solution. Though the author recognizes the need to find a coordinated answer, she believes that in the construction of said solution, attention should be given to specific features and policy preferences evidenced by developing countries. Under this scenario, this contribution focuses on the so-called “Pillar Two” and assesses its “Global Anti-Base Erosion (GloBE) proposal” from said perspective. After her analysis, the author concludes that this rushed political-driven proposal not only has been designed in the benefit of major and more advanced economies, but it goes far more beyond “BEPS”. In this vein, the author advocates for concentrating the efforts and resources on a transparent discussion that directly addresses efficient and fairer nexus and profit allocation rules – main concern for developing countries and, in the autor´s view, the base problem to be solved.