In a somewhat surprise move, it appears EU Member States have managed to reach preliminary agreement on a minimum level of taxation for largest corporations, also known as the Pillar 2 Directive. The Committee of Permanent Representatives reached the required unanimous support on 12 December 2022. While it is being reported that Poland has reiterated its previous concerns, we do not expect Poland to use its veto this time. With Hungary lifting its veto, this development may mean that the EU will be the frontrunner in implementation of Pillar 2, requiring EU Member States to transpose the Pillar 2 Directive into domestic laws by the end of 2023.
On 14 March 2022, the OECD published its long awaited commentary to the model GloBE rules. At more than 200 pages, the commentary will take some time to fully absorb. However, it appears that the guidance still leaves some fundamental issues unanswered, such as how the GloBE rules co-exist with the US’s GILTI regime, and what simplifications/safe-harbors will be available to taxpayers to reduce their compliance burden. It is expected that this will be further addressed in the implementation framework, for which a public consultation was launched on the same day.