FT says London wants to exempt the city from future global corporate tax

(Reuters) – UK Finance Minister Rishi Sunak is urging the city of London to exempt itself from the future global minimum corporate tax system to be won by the G7, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.

On Saturday, the G7 countries reached a historic agreement to increase the international taxation of major multinationals such as Alphabet (Google’s parent company), Apple and Amazon.

The agreement provides for the establishment of a minimum 15% floor rate for corporate taxation and the policy for companies to pay tax in the countries where they sell their goods and services.

An official close to the talks, FT writes that the UK is among the countries to “exempt financial services” for fear that London-based global banks could be affected.

Rishi Sunak has already raised the question during the discussion at G7 London, citing those familiar with the matter, the newspaper said. The finance minister is expected to repeat his request at the G20 next month.

“Our position is that financial services companies should be exempted, and EU countries are in the same position,” a British official was quoted as saying.

“The global tax agreement with the support of the G7 finance ministers will digitalize the global tax system, creating a level playing field for all types of businesses,” a Treasury spokesman said.

“The agreement will now be discussed in detail at the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors’ meeting in July,” the spokesman added.

(Akriti Sharma Bangalore, Kanishka Singh, Edition Open Hyatt Kazen, Ditt Bar Plantin Honald)