LONDON: Finance chiefs from rich countries discussed ways to steer the global economy out of its worst slump since the Great Depression and agreed on the need to solve a tax dispute that has become a test case for US re-engagement under new president Joe Biden.
Britain, which is chairing the Group of Seven industrialised nations this year, said it had also called for more support for the most vulnerable countries during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Ministers and central bank governors exchanged views on how best to shape and respond to the phases of the global recovery from Covid-19, including supporting workers and businesses in dealing with the pandemic while ensuring sustainability in the long term,” the British finance ministry said.
Support
Italian Economy Minister Roberto Gualtieri said the G7 had committed to continuing co-ordinated action to support the economy. “The withdrawal of policy support is premature,” he wrote on Twitter.
President Biden has proposed a further $1.9 trillion in spending and tax cuts on top of $4trn of coronavirus relief measures enacted by his predecessor Donald Trump.
Britain said G7 officials agreed that making progress on reaching “an international solution to the tax challenges of the digital economy” was a key priority.
Countries have been trying to revive attempts at a global approach to taxing giant digital firms, many of them American such as Amazon and Google, after progress was blocked by Trump’s administration.
Britain called on G7 countries to agree a joint approach to taxing Internet giants by mid-2021, a deadline agreed by the wider Group of 20 nations.
Britain’s finance minister Rishi Sunak stressed “the moral, health and economic case” for global vaccine distribution and said international financial institutions had to help vulnerable countries respond to the pandemic.