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OECD, minimum corporation tax.

 Businesses have urged ministers to delay the introduction of an internationally agreed corporate tax or risk burdening them with «impossible» reporting deadlines. However, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt confirmed in the Autumn Statement that a 15 per cent effective minimum tax rate for all subsidiaries of UK multinationals will be included in the spring finance bill and enacted from the end of 2023. The proposed minimum business levy is part of an agreement signed by 136 countries last October, which was coordinated by the OECD club of mostly rich nations and hailed as the most significant tax reform in over a century. The policy is designed to stamp out profit shifting and corporate tax havens, but implementation has been delayed, and no country has yet enshrined the policy in law.

Businesses say they need more time to prepare for the change while finer details still need to be clarified by the OECD. The OECD is due to respond to concerns about the minimum tax rules, with updated guidance to be published in December and again next year. Britain «should not run ahead of everyone else» but wait until the OECD publishes more guidance. A new minimum corporate tax in the US does not comply with OECD rules, and Hungary's directive in the EU is blocked.

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