G7 Tax Agreement: IPPR says countries can still go further to end ‘race to the bottom’ on tax

5 Jun 2021

Press Story

Think tank welcomes ‘much-needed’ move to a global minimum corporation tax rate of at least 15 per cent, but urges world leaders to go further

This week an IPPR report said that a global minimum corporation tax rate of at least 15 per cent could raise £7.9 billion for the UK, but warned this rate would not be enough to end the race to the bottom on tax, while also foregoing almost half the potential tax revenue of the original Biden plan for the rate to be set at 21 per cent.

IPPR says that a 21 per cent rate would both be fairer, do more to prevent multi-national firms from offshoring their profits to tax havens and raise £14.7 billion for the UK – enough to fund the rebuilding of the NHS and care system.

George Dibb, head of the IPPR Centre for Economic Justice, said:

“This agreement is a much-needed step to create a fairer tax system for all and end the use of tax havens. Agreement on a minimum tax of at least 15 per cent is welcome, but the level needs to be set higher to truly end the race to the bottom on tax.

“With the UK corporation tax rate set to rise in 2023, the UK government should be demonstrating leadership and aiming for a global minimum rate of 21 per cent or higher with the ultimate goal of around 25 per cent.”

ENDS

CONTACT

Robin Harvey, Digital and Media Officer: 07779 204798 r.harvey@ippr.org

NOTES TO EDITORS

  1. The IPPR paper, Ending the Race to the Bottom: Why the UK should seize the opportunity to support a global minimum corporation tax by George Dibb, Carsten Jung, Shreya Nanda and Henry Parkes, is available for download at: http://www.ippr.org/research/publications/ending-the-race-to-the-bottom
  2. IPPR calculated the £12 billion annual investment needed to ‘build back better’ in the NHS and social care in the report The State of Health and Care: The NHS Long Term Plan after Covid-19 by Chris Thomas and Parth Patel. Available to download here: https://www.ippr.org/research/publications/state-of-health-and-care
  3. IPPR is the UK’s pre-eminent progressive think tank. With more than 40 staff in offices in London, Manchester, Newcastle and Edinburgh, IPPR is Britain’s only national think tank with a truly national presence. www.ippr.org