 |
| Finance ministers and central-bank governors pose for a
family photo during a meeting of G20 finance ministers and central-bank governors at the Manezh Exhibition Center in Moscow on February 16 [G20 Official Photo] |
By RFE/RL
Moscow: Group of 20 (G20) finance ministers have pledged to refrain
from devaluing their currencies to gain economic advantage and to crack down on
corporate tax avoidance.
A two-day meeting in Moscow ended on February 16 with a
joint communique that included a promise that the G20 member states will
"refrain from competitive devaluation" and "resist all forms of
protectionism and keep our markets open."
There have been concerns governments might move to devalue
their currencies to generate economic growth.
However, International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde
said that despite a "lot of talk" about a currency war, "we have
not seen any such thing as currency war. We have heard currency worries not
currency war. We have not seen confrontation but a dialogue, deliberation,
discussions and clearly this G20 Moscow meeting has been extremely helpful and
productive in that respect."
In their communique, the ministers of the world's 20 leading
industrial and developing countries also said they were "determined to
develop measures to address base erosion and profit shifting" by
multinational companies.
They pledged to do that in coordination with the
Organization for Cooperation and Economic Development (OECD), which is
preparing an action plan on measures to be taken to combat corporate tax
avoidance.
Britain, France, and Germany were the main movers behind the
drive, which comes as cash-strapped governments try to find ways to inject new
funds into their budgets.
Addressing a press conference on the sidelines of the G20
meeting earlier in the day, British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne
said international action was needed to crack down on companies that transfer
profits from their home country to another in order to pay lower taxes.
"Now, we all want international businesses located in
our countries and doing business in our countries, and employing people in our
countries, and certainly Britain wants to have one of the most competitive tax
systems in the world," Osborne said.
"But we do want businesses to pay the taxes that we set
in our countries. And that cannot be achieved by one country alone."
The OECD's action plan is to be submitted to a G20 meeting
in July.
In a statement, OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria said,
"As governments and their citizens are struggling to make ends meet, it is
critical that all taxpayers -- private and corporate -- pay their fair amount
of taxes."
The G20 includes both the world's leading and emerging
economies, accounting for 90 percent of the world economy.
The G20 meeting is being hosted by Russia for the first time
as it holds the presidency of the grouping.
Copyright (c) 2013. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.