G20 set to agree on 'historic' global corporate tax rate, says French finance minister

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Mairesayshe wants to seea landmark global corporate tax agreement implementedby2023.

"We have been waiting for too long to adopt this international taxation system," Le Maire toldCBC News Network's Power & Politics.

"Now is the time to decide to adopt this new system and to implement it, let's say, between one or two years, [but] not much more."

Le Maire said he expects finance ministers and central bank governors from 20 of the world's largest economies to approve the tax plan at this week's G20 ministerial meeting in Venice.

"We could have at the level of the G20, in a few hours, an agreement amongst 20 [of the] most important countries around the world," he said.

If fully implemented, the plan would overhaul the global taxation system and make it more difficult for large multinational companies to relocate operations tojurisdictions with low tax rates.

"For the first time, we are putting the race to the bottom to an end," Le Maire said.

"I'm deeply convinced that this race to the bottom on taxation is clearly a dead end because it does not provide the necessary public funding for public services."

Hesaid the tax deal would target tech giants, which Le Maire said tend to avoid fair taxation on their profits in countries where they don't have a physical presence.

'A starting point'

Last week, Canada and130 other countries backed the plan by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Developmentto set a 15 per cent global corporate tax rate.

Le Mairesaid he wants the rate setas high as possible andconsiders the 15 per cent rate to bea benchmark for negotiations atthis week's G20 summit.

He noted that the U.S. had been keen on a 21 per cent rateearly on in the negotiations, but ultimately backed the 15 per cent figure first agreed on at the G7 summit last month in the United Kingdom.

"Let's be clear. For the French government, 15 per cent is the starting point and not the end of the story," he told Power & Politics.

Irish Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said there is noconsensus on a globalrate.Ireland'slow tax rates have attracted manylarge multinational techgiants.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freelandsaid she will attend the G20 ministerial meetingsin Venice. Her office said the Canadian delegationwill follow all health protocols during their visit and upon returning to Canada.

With files from David Cochrane and The Associated Press.