BERLIN: German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble on Monday said the G20 leaders agreed that the BEPS process to crack down on tax “base erosion and profit sharing” was working and further steps were needed to implement it, including in the digital economy.
He said the case of Apple (AAPL.O), which the European Commission last week said owed up to 13 billion euros ($14.50 billion) of back taxes to Ireland, would not have happened if the BEPS process had already been in place.
Schaeuble said he and U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew agreed that the Apple case could have been avoided through the BEPS process. He said they agreed to use the momentum of the case to continue to crack down on tax evasion across borders.