Hey, you’ve got to hear about this wild thing happening with taxes globally. The US, under Trump – yeah, remember him? – bashed this big global tax deal right at the start. But guess what? They’re actually still talking about it, like really chatting away with other countries through the OECD. Crazy, right?
So, this guy Mathias Cormann, the big cheese over at the OECD, was in Greece and told the Financial Times that the US is still in the game, sorta. They’re yakking about issues like tech stuff and other nerdy tax details. It’s like Trump comes out swinging with his “Nah, not in my backyard!” memo when his term started, but insiders say, “Hmm, maybe the US didn’t break up with the OECD after all?”
There are these two parts to the deal, like Pillar one and Pillar two. Pillar one is a big deal – imagine companies finally paying taxes where they make money – but, plot twist, it ain’t locked in yet. America needs to back it for it to fly, and they’re kinda dragging their feet as usual. Then there’s Pillar two, and this one’s spreading like wildfire. Over 40 countries went ahead with a 15% global minimum tax, saying, “Screw it, we’ll do it without you, USA!”
Cormann sounds kind of worried about how the whole shebang might blow up if every country just starts inventing taxes willy-nilly. That could tank trade and global growth, nobody wants that – except maybe those contrarians on the internet.
And then, there’s this lawyer Sandy Bhogal, who’s skeptical about anything getting sorted with the US when it comes to Big Tech. All this is going down while tariffs could be about to mess up the growth party even more. It’s like a global economic soap opera, but we’re still waiting for the next plot twist. Who knows what’s next, right? The OECD is sitting tight, reassessing numbers and waiting for the dust to settle.
Anyway, Cormann’s shouting about multilateralism – big word, huh? – like it’s the magic bullet. He’s thinking if everyone doesn’t hang out and sort this mess, we’re just asking for a trade war. And with inflation already a pain in everyone’s wallet, that’s not gonna be fun.
So, there you have it, global tax talks, trade war angst, tariffs, and all that jazz. Stay tuned!
