The Guardian view on global corporate tax: a $500bn prize that states must seize | Editorial

Donald Trump may reject the negotiations, but he cannot veto a global effort to make multinational companies answer to governments Governments are told that public services must shrink because money is tight. Yet a new Tax Justice Network report says that countries could capture an extra $500bn a year without raising corporate tax rates. The answer is to tax multinational profits where real economic activity happens – known as unitary taxation. No new profit is created. Revenue simply shifts from tax havens where profits are “booked” to the countries where workers produce and customers spend. Making that principle a global tax standard depends on UN talks opening in New York on Monday. Modelled on the UN climate regime, a fiscal framework convention would create the governing body and procedures, with protocols providing detailed rules. The UN wants agreement by late 2027. Donald Trump’s US walked out last year and urged others to follow. None did. Rich countries gain most when firms pay tax where people work, not where profits vanish in havens, because their economies are the largest. Britain would collect about £13bn extra a year in tax receipts – two‑thirds of the cost of an NHS