Deal to force multinational companies to pay a 15% minimum tax is marred by loopholes, watchdog says

By PAUL WISEMAN
AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — An ambitious 2021 agreement by more than 140 countries and territories to weed out tax havens and force multinational corporations to pay a minimum tax has been weakened by loopholes and will raise only a fraction of the revenue that was envisioned, a tax watchdog backed by the European Union has warned. The landmark agreement, brokered by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, set a minimum global corporate tax of 15%. The idea was to stop multinational corporations from using accounting and legal maneuvers to shift earnings to low- or no-tax havens. Those havens are typically places like Bermuda and the Cayman Islands where the companies actually do little or no business.