The Group of 20 major economies are likely to reach a final agreement on global tax reforms when they hold high-level meetings in October, Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said Thursday.
The prospects for such a deal, including a common minimum corporate tax rate, are "getting higher," Aso told reporters after a teleconference with his counterparts from the Group of Seven nations.
The deal is expected at the Oct. 12-13 meeting of G-20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Washington ahead of final approval by the G-20 leaders during their Oct. 30-31 summit in Rome.
Talks at the G-7 level "have advanced" from July when the G-20 finance chiefs backed a plan to introduce a global minimum corporate tax rate of at least 15 percent, Aso said.
The G-7 -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States plus the European Union -- is part of the G-20, which also involves emerging powers such as China, India and Brazil.
It was the first G-7 finance session since the G-20 decision to support the common minimum tax rate and other new rules to prevent profitable multinational companies such as U.S. tech giants Google LLC and Apple Inc. from avoiding levies.
Led by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, over 130 economies agreed to the plan at the working level, pending final approval by the leaders of the G-20, which accounts for more than 80 percent of the world's gross domestic product.
With implementation of the new rules in 2023 in sight, the G-20 nations have been working out details of the agreement including a specific level of the minimum tax rate.
