Number Theory: Decoding the push for a global minimum tax

The Council of the European Union approved a directive to introduce a 15% minimum levy on large multinational businesses to eliminate tax avoidance and end a race to the bottom in corporate taxation on December 15. This EU deal is expected to trigger a “domino effect” for a global minimum tax deal, reported a Financial Times article on December 19 (https://on.ft.com/3FC2izf). What is the need for a global minimum tax on multinationals? How much taxes do they evade? A working paper published in November 2022 by the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER) can answer these questions. Here are four things it shows.