Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether it was his policy to support the inclusion of a carve-out for financial services under Pillar 1 of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting framework; and if he will make statement.

The UK has long been at the forefront of global efforts to update the international corporation tax framework in response to challenges created by digitalisation.

The UK has been an active participant throughout the process and has played a leading role in securing G20 commitment to reach initial agreement on the proposals by mid-2021 and final agreement by October 2021.

The agreement reached on 8 October 2021, with over 130 jurisdictions across the globe, represents a major reform to the global tax system and will help to ensure multinational businesses pay their fair share, with the right companies paying the right amount of tax in the right place.

Reaching a Two-Pillar Solution has been a long-standing priority for the UK. It is a credit to our persistence that this agreement is now becoming a reality.

The full details of the political agreement are still subject to international negotiation and it would not be appropriate to comment on specific provisions.