Time to fix the way governments tax multinational companies

TAX COMPANIESOECD too much, and growth will shrivel. Tax them too little, and resentment will soar. The public and politicians in Western countries have long thought the treatment of multinationals falls too close to that second extreme. Now the system is . Over 40 countries are squabbling over how to impose levies on Silicon Valley firms. Meanwhile the pandemic is forcing governments to find ways to plug their fiscal deficits, not least the Biden administration, which wants to increase multinationals’ tax rate.The best hope for an amicable outcome lies in a forum run by the , a club of mainly rich countries, where this summer 139 countries hope to agree on new tax principles. Success would represent the most important overhaul to the international architecture in a century. It would also help avoid chaos.