Estonia to defend corporate tax system

Estonia’s adoption of the EU directive on the OECD-led global minimum tax is highly conditional upon the possibility to retain Estonia’s current investor-friendly corporate tax system, Minister of Finance Keit Pentus-Rosimannus has said.

The Minister made the statement at a November 24 meeting with the Director-General for Taxation and Customs Union Mr Gerassimos Thomas to discuss the ongoing international tax reform.

“As the European Union talks regarding the directive are about to start, we intend to make sure that the change will impact only the large multinationals with the revenue exceeding EUR 750 million and leave the rest of our existing system untouched. Estonia values fair tax competition and simple efficient tax rules that do not hinder the growth of business. We are keen to maintain our current tax system as it encourages both job creation and innovation. Even now, our revenue from corporate tax is comparable to that of many large countries where the nominal tax rates are much higher.”
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“We wouldn’t want the EU to open several tax battlefronts at once. It would be reasonable to await the outcome of the one major reform – the global minimum tax – before launching into debates over the next.”

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