Global tax on tech giants now ‘highly likely,’ German minister says after Yellen call

01/29/2021

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Matt Clinch | Silvia Amaro | CNBC

LONDON — Silicon Valley tech firms look increasingly likely to face new global tax laws this year, as the change in the White House fuels optimism among European officials that an agreement will soon be reached.

Speaking to CNBC’s Annette Weisbach on Thursday, German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said it was now “highly likely” that a deal on tax will be struck before a summer deadline at the OECD level.

“I’m really confident that we’ll get an agreement,” he said, just one day after speaking to new U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen via telephone.

Yellen backed calls for a new global levy on tech giants during a Senate confirmation hearing last week. She’s also pledged that the U.S. will actively participate in the negotiations with other OECD nations, after the previous administration decided to pull out of the talks in the summer of 2020. 

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