Financial firms poised to be exempt from new global tax rules

Financial services companies are set to be exempt from a global plan to make multinational firms pay more tax to the countries where they operate, in a win for UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak.

Negotiators in talks hosted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development have accepted Sunak’s proposal to ensure that financial firms, such as global banks with head offices in London, wouldn’t face additional tax burdens, according to people familiar with the discussions who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are private.

The Paris-based OECD is hosting a meeting Thursday as part of efforts to reach high-level consensus on the principles of the plan among more than 100 countries, following an accord among Group of Seven nations in early June. Whatever is decided will be considered by Group of 20 finance ministers in Venice next week, with broader agreement on the plan’s details likely to come later in the year.

The news was reported earlier by the Financial Times.

The talks aim to upend decades of tax laws and agreements, drive more tax revenue to governments and address concerns that multinational companies like Amazon.com and Facebook aren’t paying enough. An accord could also roll back the domestic digital taxes some countries have implemented, soothing growing trade tensions with the US