Boris Johnsons appoints new members of the Cabinet. Chancellor of the Exchequer Nadhim Zahawi chancellor of the Exchequer in his office of No11 Downing Street. Picture by Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street
Zahawi refused to comment to reporters as he left a meeting in 10 Downing Street, including on whether he will uphold Sunak’s pleas for fiscal discipline against Johnson’s free-spending instincts…reports Asian Lite News
Prime Minister Boris Johnson late Tuesday named his Iraqi-born education secretary, Nadhim Zahawi, as finance minister after the shock resignation of Rishi Sunak.
Downing Street said Queen Elizabeth II had approved the appointment of Zahawi, who came to Britain as a child with his Kurdish family not speaking any English, before forging a lucrative business career.
The 55-year-old co-founded the prominent polling company YouGov and was active in local Conservative politics in London, before becoming an MP in 2010.
He won widespread praise for overseeing Britain’s pandemic vaccines rollout.
But like Sunak, his private wealth has drawn adverse attention, including when he claimed parliamentary expenses for heating his horse stables in 2013.
British PM Boris Johnson named his Iraqi-born education secretary, Nadhim Zahawi, as finance minister after the shock resignation of Rishi Sunakhttps://t.co/2rTROQMeHi
Zahawi refused to comment to reporters as he left a meeting in 10 Downing Street, including on whether he will uphold Sunak’s pleas for fiscal discipline against Johnson’s free-spending instincts.
The prime minister named another loyalist, Michelle Donelan, to take Zahawi’s place at the education ministry.
The plan will have to be definitely approved by G20 heads of state and government gathering in Rome in October for the annual major summit…reports Asian Lite News.
The G20 Finance Ministers have agreed to go ahead with the plan to design a global tax system that would impose a minimum levy on multinational companies.
After a two-day meeting in Venice, the Ministers and central bank governors on Saturday reaffirmed the common will to reform the international business tax system, reports Xinhua news agency.
If implemented, this would put an end to multinational corporations shifting profits to low-tax heavens around the world.
Great to be in Venice for the #G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting — Grazie Mille to the Italian authorities for their warm welcome and strong leadership of the G20! pic.twitter.com/DzveLcunPN
In the final communique, they wrote that they achieved “a historic agreement on a more stable and fairer international tax architecture” after several years of talks and building on the progress made last year.
“We have endorsed the key components of the two pillars: on the allocation of profits of multinational enterprises and on an effective global minimum corporate tax,” Italian Economy and Finance Minister Daniele Franco said at the closing press conference.
The agreement would be relevant in order to “contribute to stabilizing the international tax system in the coming years” ,said Franco, whose country holds the G20 presidency this year.
However, “additional work is necessary between now and October to fully finalise it”, he said.
The plan will have to be definitely approved by G20 heads of state and government gathering in Rome in October for the annual major summit.
On the economy, the G20 finance leaders said the outlook has improved in many countries since their last meeting in April, mainly thanks to ongoing vaccination campaigns and the roll-out of supportive policies.
The full weight of the @g20org is behind this historic tax deal – which will make our global tax system fit for purpose in a digital age and crucially, is fair.
They underlined that the recovery remains uneven, and “exposed to downside risks, in particular the spread of new variants of the Covid-19 virus and different paces of vaccination”.
“We reaffirm our resolve to use all available policy tools for as long as required to address the adverse consequences of Covid-19, especially on the most impacted, such as women, youth and informal and low-skilled workers,” the final statement read.
“We will continue to sustain the recovery, avoiding any premature withdrawal of support measures, while remaining consistent with central bank mandates and preserving financial stability and long-term fiscal sustainability.”
Created in 1999, the G20 serves as a main and informal forum for international cooperation on financial and economic issues.
It comprises 19 countries plus the European Union.
The countries are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, Britain, and the United States.
The group, home to almost two-thirds of the world’s population, accounts for about 86 per cent of the gross world product and 75 per cent of global trade as of 2020.
UAE President Khalifa bin Zayed ordered that flags be flown at half-mast across the country until Saturday to mark three days of mourning…reports Asian Lite News
United Arab Emirates’ Finance Minister and deputy ruler of Dubai, Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has died on Wednesday, the Dubai media office said.
He was the brother of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Prime Minister and ruler of the emirate of Dubai. Hamdan, who was 75 years old, had been finance minister since 1971, when the country was founded.
UAE President Khalifa bin Zayed ordered that flags be flown at half-mast across the country until Saturday to mark three days of mourning, according to a statement by the official news agency WAM, DPA news reported.
