The Department of Finance has welcomed an agreement exempting US multinational corporations from the 15% global minimum tax negotiated through the Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD). The global minimum tax was created to prevent multinational companies from dodging tax bills by locating operations and reporting income in low-tax countries. The plan also has enforcement rules that allow other countries to collect tax from a company if its local jurisdiction isn’t charging at least a 15% rate. Last year, US President Donald Trump pulled the country out of a framework to implement the 15% global tax minimum, which was negotiated in 2021 during President Joe Biden's administration. Speaking on Monday, tánaiste and finance minister Simon Harris welcomed the approval of the global minimum tax package, stating: "As a member of the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS), Ireland joined the global consensus in agreeing a Side-by-Side system which acknowledges the robustness of both the US tax system and the global minimum tax, while preserving the original objectives of the OECD international tax agreement.”"This package was carefully negotiated in response to the US’ concerns and the mandate that followed from the G7 and G20.

Source: Irish Examiner January 05, 2026 16:15 UTC