By David Lawder and Doina Chiacu
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Sunday she was confident the U.S. Congress would approve legislation to implement the global corporate minimum tax agreed by 136 countries.
Yellen said the actions to bring the United States into compliance with the global minimum tax would likely be included in the so-called reconciliation budget bill containing President Joe Biden's proposed spending initiatives.
Asked on ABC's "This Week" whether she was confident the measure would get through, Yellen said: "Yes. I am confident that what we need to do to come into compliance with the minimum tax will be included in a reconciliation package. I hope that we, that it will be passed and we will be able to reassure the world that the United States will do its part."
The parliamentary maneuver known as budget reconciliation would allow Democrats to act without Republican votes.
A group of 136 countries on Friday set a minimum global tax rate https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/global-corporate-tax-deal-nears-holdouts-drop-objections-2021-10-08 of 15% for big companies and sought to make it harder for them to avoid taxation in a landmark deal https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/what-is-global-minimum-tax-deal-what-will-it-mean-2021-10-08 that Biden said leveled the playing field.
Treasury officials and tax experts have said that the global minimum tax would not require a treaty to implement and could be achieved in the reconciliation bill because it is a voluntary agreement among countries to individually impose a minimum tax on overseas earnings of corporations.
The United States has had such a minimum tax since the end of 2017, so it is a matter of raising the rate to conform with the agreement.
Treasury officials have said they regard the global minimum tax as less controversial than a higher overall corporate tax rate or a higher capital gains tax, because it puts the United States on a more competitive footing with other countries.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said it will review details of the Biden administration proposals closely.
"We remain especially concerned about the cumulative impact of the (global minimum tax) proposal and the tax changes being sought by the administration as part of the reconciliation bill pending before Congress,” Neil Bradley, the chamber's chief policy officer, said in a statement.
Yellen did not address how to implement another part of the deal that aims to revamp taxation for large technology companies and other highly profitable multinational firms.