What is a global minimum tax and how could it affect Ireland?

The Irish economy has boomed in recent years from the influx of billions in investment from foreign multinationals

Paschal Donohoe voiced concerns about how a global minimum rate would affect a smaller economy such as Ireland's. Picture: Larry Cummins

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has thrown the weight of the US government behind a push for a global corporate minimum tax rate, possibly carving a path to a long-sought deal updating international tax rules for the first time in a generation.

Yellen said on Monday that she is working with G20 countries to agree on a global minimum, which she said could help end a "30-year race to the bottom on corporate tax rates."