France reaches deal with U.S to push ahead with OECD digital tax talks

France and the U.S. agreed to press ahead with a global rewrite of cross-border tax rules for the digital era, during talks at Davos on Thursday (January 23).

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said the two countries had set aside a bilateral dispute over France's digital tax on big tech companies....

in order to focus on securing a broader global deal this year that would include a minimal corporate tax rate.

(SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH FINANCE MINISTER, BRUNO LE MAIRE, SAYING:

"This working basis should mean that we can get to work on the details next week to look at the different options for the taxation of digital activities. So we have a few months to reach this agreement, over these few months, as France promised, we'll put back the payment due in April to December. But I'd like to say here, clearly, that whatever happens digital businesses will pay tax in France in 2020."

The two hammered out a series of written proposals for the first redrafting of international tax rules since the 1920s.

They'll be put to 137 governments when discussions start next week at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.