Pressure builds on Ireland as Luxembourg, France back Joe Biden's tax plan

Proposal to tax the overseas profits of US multinationals at a minimum of 21% is widely seen as undermining the advantages to Ireland from the low level of 12.5% corporation tax

US president Joe Biden put the weight of the White House behind securing support from the big countries in EU for an upheaval in the way multinationals are taxed, under an initiative driven by the OECD. Picture: Evan Vucci/AP

The pressure on Ireland's decades-old 12.5% corporation tax regime has come under further pressure as Luxembourg backed the global reform plans of the US, while France weighed in with a minimum global tax rate.   

US president Joe Biden last week put the weight of the White House behind securing support from the big countries in EU for an upheaval in the way multinationals are taxed, under an initiative driven by the OECD.