VOA慢速英语--全球130个国家支持最低公司税率协议

Some 130 countries have agreed on a worldwide minimum tax, an idea backed by President Joe Biden. The minimum tax is part of an international effort to keep multinational¹ companies from avoiding taxes by moving their profits to countries with low rates.

The agreement was announced last Thursday. It is an attempt to meet the difficulties of the interconnected and increasingly online world economy.

The deal calls for a world minimum tax of at least 15 percent. This is important for Biden as he seeks to raise more money for his American Jobs Plan. Technical details still need to be worked out. It would be at least 2023 before the agreement takes effect.

The agreement was announced by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The agreement includes taxing part of the profits of the largest international companies in countries where they do business online, but may have no physical presence.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire called it "the most important international tax agreement in a century."

In one-on-one agreements, countries led by France have already started enforcing online taxes aimed at U.S. technology companies like Amazon, Google and Facebook. The U.S. considers this unfair trade practice. Under the new deal, other nations would agree to withdraw those taxes in favor of the international minimum tax.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump² placed taxes on French goods after the French said they would tax American technology companies. France has welcomed the Biden administration's push to reach an international deal.

"Online giants must pay their fair share of taxes where they have activities," Biden said. "There is no reason a small or medium business should pay more taxes than an online giant simply because it's physically³ present in the country where it carries out its activities."

U.S. Treasury⁴ Secretary Janet Yellen called it a "historic day."

Yellen said in a statement that for tens of years the United States has been in a "self-defeating" international tax competition. She said the U.S. lowers its corporate⁵ tax rate "only to watch other nations lower theirs in response." She said it has become a race to the bottom.

Yellen said lower rates take away money for building projects, education, and efforts to fight the pandemic.

Manal Corwin is a tax specialist at professional services firm KPMG, and a former Treasury Department official. She said the deal was largely complete and the agreement remained similar to the U.S. proposal. She said it was important for countries to remove their online tax agreements.

Under the deal, countries could tax their companies' foreign earnings⁶ up to 15 percent if they go untaxed through reductions in other countries. This removes the reason to move profits since they will be taxed at home. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development says such tax avoidance practices cost countries between $100 billion and $240 billion each year.

Not all of the 139 countries that joined the talks signed on to the deal. Ireland's Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said it had overall support for the agreement, but could not agree to the 15 percent minimum. He said the country's 12.5 percent rate is a "fair rate." Ireland said it would continue with discussions going forward.

Signers include Bermuda and The Cayman Islands, two tax havens⁸, and major economic powers China and India.

More discussion is expected by the world's largest 20 economies, known as the G-20. Finance ministers of the G-20 meet next week in Venice. A convention will be needed for countries to sign a multilateral agreement, although the minimum corporate tax could be passed by each country through their national legislation voluntarily.

Tax experts say that the voluntary method could work if it was passed by countries that have many multinational companies' headquarters, such as the U.S. and Europe. It would send the message that profits made anywhere will be taxed at home up to the minimum.

In the U.S., Biden has proposed a 21 percent minimum rate on overseas earnings of big American companies to stop them from moving profits. Biden's U.S. tax plan must first pass Congress where the Democrats⁹ have a small majority.

Words in This Story

minimum – adj. least or lowest possible in amount or degree

giant – n. a person or thing that is very large, powerful, or successful

medium – adj. in the middle of a range of possible sizes or amounts

response - n. something that is said or written as a reply to something

tax haven⁷ – n. a place where people go to live and companies go to operate in order to avoid paying high taxes

multilateral– adj. involving more than two groups or countries

voluntary – adj. done or given because you want to and not because you are forced to: done or given by choice

1 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

4 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

5 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

6 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

7 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

8 havens   

n.港口，安全地方( haven的名词复数 )v.港口，安全地方( haven的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Your twenty havens would back out at the last minute anyhow. 你那二十个避难所到了最后一分钟也要不认帐。 来自辞典例句
• Using offshore havens to avoid taxes and investor protections. 使用海面的港口避免税和投资者保护。 来自互联网

9 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》