The OECD Secretary-General’s tax report to G20 finance ministers and central bank governors, prepared for their October 15 meeting in Bangkok, centers on a question the U.S. presidency asked the OECD to answer: how corporate income tax policy affects business dynamism. It also gives the latest figures on the global minimum tax and flags the next round of talks on taxing the digitalized economy. For tax and public affairs teams at multinationals, it is the most current official summary of the international tax agenda before the Miami summit.
Corporate tax and business dynamism
The report defines business dynamism as the process through which firms enter, expand, contract and exit markets. It notes a decline in dynamism over the past two decades in advanced economies and some emerging and developing economies, and treats corporate income tax as one driver. According to the report, corporate tax can worsen financing frictions and reduce post-tax returns, which can limit firm entry and growth. Compliance costs can weigh most on small and young firms.
On incentives, the report separates expenditure-based incentives, which lower the cost of specific investments such as R&D or training, from income-based incentives, which it says may produce windfall gains without additional investment. It warns that size-based incentives can discourage growth by leading firms to stay below eligibility thresholds. It says refundable tax credits may work better than non-refundable credits for cash-constrained firms, and that pairing refundability with caps can contain the fiscal cost. It also cites evidence that tax certainty supports investment and firm growth.
The work fits the presidency’s finance track, which the G20 USA site says will prioritize pro-growth policies supported by deregulation and regulatory modernization.
Global minimum tax: where implementation stands
The report says around 65 jurisdictions had legislated or taken active steps to introduce the global minimum tax by mid-2026. The Inclusive Framework’s Central Record shows 44 jurisdictions have completed the transitional qualification mechanism for their Income Inclusion Rule, and 50 have done so for their Qualified Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax rules and safe harbors. In September 2026, the Inclusive Framework released the terms of reference and methodology for a full legislative review of whether domestic rules are consistent with the global rules.
For companies, the near-term items are about compliance. Jurisdictions applying the rules from 2024 agreed a common understanding for the first cycle of GloBE Information Return filings, with coordinated relief to avoid duplicate filings and penalties. The return was updated to include simplifications agreed under the Side-by-Side package. The report also cites updated OECD findings that the minimum tax is reducing profit shifting and raising revenue, with preliminary evidence of no significant adverse effect on aggregate investment or employment among in-scope groups.
What comes next
The report says discussions on tax issues related to the digitalized economy have resumed and were due to be taken up at an Inclusive Framework plenary later in October. Other open files include a public consultation on Chapter VII of the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines, which covers intra-group services, and Inclusive Framework projects on tax issues raised by the global mobility of workers. G20 leaders meet in Miami on December 14–15, according to the presidency’s events calendar.
