The new US administration has issued a memorandum voiding any commitments made by the previous administration to the OECD''s global base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) project that have not been enacted by the US Congress.
Section One of the memorandum, dealing with ''Applicability of the Global Tax Deal'' states: ‘the Secretary of the Treasury and the Permanent Representative of the United States to the OECD shall notify the OECD that any commitments made by the prior administration on behalf of the United States with respect to the Global Tax Deal have no force or effect within the United States absent an act by the Congress adopting the relevant provisions of the Global Tax Deal.''
''The OECD global tax deal supported under the prior administration not only allows extraterritorial jurisdiction over American income but also limits our nation’'s ability to enact tax policies that serve the interests of American businesses and workers'', it adds.
According to tax advisors EY, the memo indicates that the administration effectively seeks to withdraw the US from the OECD BEPS agreement. This agreement consists of two pillars, one rewriting the rules on how large multinational enterprises' profits are to be taxed in different countries, the other requiring all OECD countries to tax those profits at a minimum 15 per cent. It has been negotiated for several years and achieved general agreement among 140 countries in 2022. The US government has previously been reluctant to agree to it because its main adverse impact will be on large US companies that trade in digital services.
The memo also targets foreign countries that are suspected of discriminating against US firms. It directs the Department of the Treasury to identify jurisdictions that are ''not in compliance with any tax treaty with the United States or have any tax rules in place…that are extraterritorial or disproportionately affect American companies''. The treasury has been given 60 days to develop a list of options for ''protective measures or other actions' that the US should take in response.
''This section clearly has implications for digital services taxes around the world'', commented EY. Several countries, including Austria, Canada, France, Italy, Spain and the UK have declared they will proceed with their own digital services taxes if the OECD-G20 agreement is delayed further.
Source：【2025/01/23 US government】