The G7 summit has opened a new page in the discussion on the taxation of large multinationals, with aunderstanding which partially excludes US companies from the global tax mechanism. The agreement, promoted by the Canadian presidency, comes for Avoid direct clashes with the Trump administrationwho had threatened a “revenge tax” against the countries that had continued to tax the American big techs.
The agreement between the G7 countries, for now, looks more like one temporary respite than to a structural revision. To transform in order, this pact will have to move from the OECD filter and obtain the green light of 147 states.
Among the G7 countries there is also theItalywho moved with the usual caution: Try to defend the regulatory system developed in 2021 under the coordination of the OECD, but also aims to preserve exports and its industrial apparatus from retaliation.
This agreement undoubtedly shows that Trump’s threats have taken hold. Accepting the so -called “parallel solution” has granted Italy a breath of air, useful to avoid immediate breaks with Washington. But the price to pay is a certain ambiguity: The agreement saves the face of everyone, at least for now, but on the tax and diplomatic level the situation is less clear.
Global Tax, the “preferential road” for the United States
The document presented in Canada speaks of a “parallel solution” motivated by need to respect the tax decision -making capacity of each country. American companies will be excluded from some components of the new system, by virtue of the taxes already paid in their national territory. A measure that falls within the framework of the requests expressed by Donald Trump. The agreement could compromise the original goal of the minimum tax, that is, to stem the artificial transfer of profits from the web giants.
Designed to put an end to the game of fictitious locations, the Global Tax at 15% aims to hit the profits of large international groups where they are really generated. It was accepted as the solution against tax nomadism of the Big Tech, who for years have parked useful in the usual legal paradises of Europe. Obviously, that promise of fairness already seems to creak.
Duties, crossed pressures and political compromises
In the current discussions, the United States would have proposed to safeguard the companies already taxed at home, thus avoiding the double withdrawal. In return, it arrived Stop the notorious “Revenge Tax” Inserted in the Obbba package: a punitive tax that would have hit the income from the countries not aligned with the American line with a rate of 20%. The regulatory design, currently under discussion of the US Senate, provided for a 2,700 billion dollar tax cuts and relief system, seasoned with a punitive tax for the countries deemed too exuberant on the digital taxation front. For now, the text has been removed from the table.
On the Italian front, Antonio Tajani said that a 10% duty on European exports would be fully bearable (the same that also said Meloni already at the top of the born).
But the numbers tell more: according to Bankitalia and the Parliamentary Budget Office, sectors such as Pharmaceuticals, Auto, Mechanics and Textiles would risk paying the most salty account. A commercial war, even if only at low intensity, would end up for damage Europe more than the American economy can weaken.
Giorgetti: Agreement useful to avoid clashes with Washington
The Minister of Economy Giancarlo Giorgetti defined the agreement a “Mr Compromise”useful to avoid that automatic retaliation mechanism contained in the notorious section 899 of the Obbba.
If the compromise of the G7 has the merit of freezing, at least for now, the “Revenge Tax” project, several variables remain at stake. The ball now passes to the OECD, where The text must obtain the approval of 147 countries before being approved.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump waved the agreement as a success of one hundred billion dollars, that is, the revenue that its companies would have risked losing with an extended application of the minimum tax. And he did not miss the opportunity to launch another arrow to Europe, accused of fury against his companies. “With the digital tax the EU will not come out well, like Canada,” he said.
What would change for Italy
With this preliminary agreement, in the short term, Let’s avoid trouble first. No tax vendette from the USA, no sudden duties on fashion, food, mechanics and similar. But let’s give up a mechanism designed to pay the great multinationals where they do business, including Italy. Our web tax remains standing, but it is not excluded that there may be changes. And the principle of the minimum tax, which was to guarantee a minimum of global equity, is in fact weakened.
