Among the biggest questions were how the European Union would cajole holdout countries such as Ireland, Estonia and Hungary, whose economic models have been built around low tax rates, to sign on. Without unanimity in the European Union, the agreement cannot be enacted.
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With those three countries now joining the deal, the agreement is on its way to becoming a reality.
Hungary said that it would sign on to the accord after Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has been at odds with the European Union on unrelated rule-of-law issues, held out for better terms to ensure that the nation’s economy wouldn’t lose a competitive edge.
Hungary has long offered a 9 percent corporate tax rate to lure investment. It wrested an exemption that would let multinationals reduce profits subject to the minimum tax for a transition period of 10 years, rather than the five-year period originally proposed.
“We have managed to reach a breakthrough on the global minimum tax deal,” Finance Minister Mihaly Varga said. “So Hungary could join the deal with a good heart.”
Ireland came around after securing a commitment that its smaller companies, with annual revenues under 750 million euros, would not face the new higher tax. It also convinced counterparts to drop the words “at least” from a draft of the O.E.C.D. statement, ensuring that the minimum tax would not be ratcheted higher.
“I am satisfied that Ireland’s interests are better served within the agreement from my contact and negotiation with international stakeholders in Europe, the United States and beyond,” Paschal Donohoe, Ireland’s finance minister, said in a statement on Thursday.
And Estonia announced its backing of the deal Thursday after resolving concerns that a minimum tax could harm the country’s entrepreneurs.