&w=3840&q=100)
US, G7 allies agree on tax framework, scrap 'discriminatory' clause
The US and fellow Group of Seven nations signed off on an agreement aimed at averting a global tax war, by creating a 'side-by-side' system that would exempt US companies from some elements of an existing global agreement.
As part of the deal, US officials agreed to remove a provision from President Donald Trump's tax-cut bill that would have increased taxes on the US income of non-US-based businesses and individuals. Known as Section 899, it came to be called the 'revenge tax' because it would increase tax rates only for countries whose tax policies Washington deems discriminatory.
The side-by-side system could 'provide greater stability and certainty in the international tax system moving forward,' the G7 advanced economies said Saturday in a statement.
As part of the agreement, the other G7 members will support the US's position in negotiations with Group of 20 countries and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which has been hosting global talks on corporate taxes, with some proposals drawing opposition from the US.
Officials from the G7 said they look forward to coming up with a solution that is 'acceptable and implementable to all,' according to the statement.
Left only partially addressed is the issue of 'digital services taxes,' which some countries levy on the profits of US-based technology companies including Meta Platforms Inc. and Amazon.com Inc.
The effort to establish a side-by-side system will include a 'constructive dialogue on the taxation of the digital economy and on preserving the tax sovereignty of all countries,' according to the G7 statement.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that he had asked Senate and House leadership to remove Section 899 from the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act after securing G7 backing for the side-by-side system. Senate Republicans deleted the section in the latest version of the tax bill.
The removal of the revenge tax was key to securing the agreement among the G7 nations, according to the statement.
'We also recognize that the removal of Section 899 is crucial to this overall understanding and to providing a more stable environment for discussions to take place' on global corporate taxation, the G7 said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News18
an hour ago
- News18
Israel-Iran War: How Many Homes Can Be Lit Up With 1 Kg Of Enriched Uranium?
Last Updated: A single kilogramme of uranium-235 can theoretically generate about 24 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity, enough to power 6,666 households for an entire year The guns may have fallen silent, but the world is still holding its breath. Just hours after US President Donald Trump declared a 'total and complete ceasefire" between Iran and Israel, effectively ending what's being termed the '12-Day War", a chilling question is being whispered across diplomatic and intelligence circles alike – Where is Iran's highly enriched uranium? This unsettling uncertainty emerged after the US carried out a series of targeted strikes on three of Iran's nuclear facilities. These sites, according to the US, were 'completely destroyed" using advanced bunker-busting munitions. However, while the missile strikes may have demolished infrastructure, they also raised an alarming suspicion – what if Iran moved its uranium stockpile beforehand? In May, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released a report confirming that Iran possessed 408.6 kgs of uranium enriched up to 60 percent purity. That's a significant jump from the 133.8 kgs recorded just three months earlier in February. For context, nuclear weapons require uranium enriched to 90 percent. US intelligence officials have long warned that a stockpile of 400 kg at 60% enrichment could be a short sprint away from weapons-grade material – enough, they say, to potentially produce up to 10 nuclear bombs. With the targeted sites now reportedly in ruins, one crucial question remains unanswered: Was the uranium there at all when the bombs hit? So far, there's been no confirmation from the IAEA, Iran, or even satellite intelligence on whether the stockpile was destroyed or hidden. What Makes Enriched Uranium So Dangerous? To understand why the world is so nervous, it's important to know what enriched uranium is and how it works. Naturally occurring uranium contains just 0.7% of the fissile isotope uranium-235. Power reactors typically use fuel enriched to 3–5% U-235. Weapons, however, require enrichment to around 90%. The enrichment process involves increasing the concentration of U-235 by removing the non-fissile U-238. This makes the uranium 'fissile," meaning its atoms can be split by neutrons, unleashing vast amounts of energy; whether for peaceful electricity or devastating explosions. If channeled into civilian use, enriched uranium has almost mythical energy potential. A single kilogramme of uranium-235 can theoretically generate about 24 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity. That's roughly 20 terajoules or 1,111 megawatt-hours – enough to power 6,666 households for an entire year, based on average annual consumption. To put this in perspective, coal, our most common source of thermal energy, doesn't even come close. It would take 160 tonnes of coal to produce the energy in just 1 kg of uranium. But the potential doesn't stop at homes. Theoretical models suggest that 1 kg of enriched uranium could: Run a 1.5-ton air conditioner continuously for 12 million hours (or about 1,370 years) Fully charge 1.2 billion mobile phones Power 3,00,000 electric cars for a single full charge (assuming 80 kWh per charge). Of course, these are idealised estimates. In the real world, energy is lost at every stage – from heat conversion to grid transmission to end-use. The silence from Iran's leadership on the uranium question has only deepened the anxiety. While officials have condemned the strikes and accused the US of 'nuclear terrorism", there's been no confirmation about whether any of the 408.6 kg of enriched uranium was destroyed, moved, or remains intact elsewhere. Meanwhile, satellite intelligence, usually swift to pick up signs of radioactive leakage or large-scale transport, has revealed little. In fact, sources within US defence circles privately admit that the intelligence on Iran's nuclear movements was 'inconclusive" in the lead-up to the strikes.
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Punjab: Saraya Industries got no foreign funds since 2007, says Sukhbir
Jun 29, 2025 08:20 AM IST Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Saturday dared Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann to prove that Saraya Industries, in which party leader Bikram Singh Majithia had an inherited share of 11%, had received even one rupee in foreign funding from 2007. Lashing out at the state government over Majithia's arrest, the SAD chief said the case was registered only because Majithia had been 'exposing' the dispensation over various issues. Sukhbir also challenged the CM to prove the disproportionate assets case, asserting that the entire case was based on a bundle of lies. (HT Photo) The Punjab Vigilance Bureau arrested Majithia on June 25 in a disproportionate assets case allegedly involving laundering of ₹ 540 crore 'drug money'. It was Sukhbir's maiden press conference after the arrest of Majithia. Regarding Saraya Industries Limited, he said, 'The only foreign funding received by Saraya Industries was in March,2006 when it received ₹ 35 crore from United States-based Clearwater Corporation in exchange for 25% shares in the company. Majithia entered politics in 2007.' He also made it clear that all transactions of Saraya Industries were scrutinised and accepted by the Income Tax department. Sukhbir also challenged the CM to prove the disproportionate assets case, asserting that the entire case was based on a bundle of lies. Sukhbir asserted that Mann had pressurised the state DGP to register the case because 'Majithia had been constantly exposing him and his corrupt and immoral cabinet colleagues'. He termed the government action 'vendetta politics'. 'An affidavit which the government had submitted to the Supreme Court in 2023 while appealing for cancellation of Majithia's regular bail and seeking his custodial interrogation in an NDPS Act was used verbatim to register this new case against him. This was done despite the fact that the Supreme Court rejected the affidavit in April this year and refused to overturn the regular bail given to Majithia by the high court or grant the request for custodial interrogation,' Sukhbir said. The SAD chief further said that the apex court even asked the AAP government to complete the probe in two days 'following which it has now taken this new route to engage in political vendetta'. He also condemned the manner in which former DGP Siddharth Chattopadhyaya and ex-deputy director of Enforcement Directorate Niranjan Singh were called by the Vigilance Bureau to share information regarding the drug case. He claimed that his party had conclusive proof of the corrupt activities of the CM and his wife.
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Elon Musk renews criticism of Trump's ‘big beautiful bill' as it faces key Senate vote
Elon Musk on Saturday (June 28, 2025) doubled down on his distaste for U.S. President Donald Trump's sprawling tax and spending cuts bill, arguing the legislation that Republican senators are scrambling to pass would kill jobs and bog down burgeoning industries. 'The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country,' Mr. Musk wrote on X on Saturday as the Senate was scheduled to call a vote to open debate on the nearly 1,000-page bill. 'It gives handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future.' The Tesla and SpaceX CEO, whose birthday is also Saturday, later posted that the bill would be 'political suicide for the Republican Party". The criticisms reopen a recent fiery conflict between the former head of the Department of Government Efficiency and the administration he recently left. They also represent yet another headache for Republican Senate leaders who have spent the weekend working overtime to get the legislation through their chamber so it can pass by Mr. Trump's Fourth of July deadline. Mr. Musk previously made his opinions about Mr. Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' clear. Days after he left the federal government last month with a laudatory celebration in the Oval Office, he blasted the bill as 'pork-filled' and a 'disgusting abomination". 'Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it,' he wrote on X earlier this month. In another post, the wealthy GOP donor who recently forecasted that he'd step back from political donations threatened to fire lawmakers who 'betrayed the American people". When Mr. Trump clapped back to say he was disappointed with Mr. Musk, back-and-forth fighting erupted and quickly escalated. Mr. Musk suggested without evidence that Mr. Trump, who spent the first part of the year as one of his closest allies, was mentioned in files related to sex abuser Jeffrey Epstein. Mr. Musk ultimately tried to make nice with the administration, saying he regretted some of his posts that 'went too far". Mr. Trump responded in kind in an interview with The New York Post, saying, 'Things like that happen. I don't blame him for anything.' It's unclear how Mr. Musk's latest broadsides will influence the fragile peace he and the president had enjoyed in recent weeks. The White House didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Mr. Musk has spent recent weeks focused on his businesses, and his political influence has waned since he left the administration. Still, the wealthy businessman poured hundreds of millions of dollars into Mr. Trump's campaign in 2024, demonstrating the impact his money can have if he's passionate enough about an issue or candidate to restart his political spending.
