To hear some politicians and commentators tell it, this will be a banner weekend for global tax policy. And you know what that means, dear reader: Hang onto your purses and wallets.
The danger to personal tax bills may not be immediately apparent because the current discussion concerns corporate taxation. Finance ministers from the Group of Seven developed economies will gather in London this weekend, and indications are that they hope to hammer out a new arrangement for taxing international companies. Negotiators have been chipping away at this for years under the auspices of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Suddenly there’s a sense this project is only a hair’s breadth from the finish line.