Corporate tax deal 'in sight' as G7 meets

Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak (L) meets with International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva (R)

Group of Seven finance ministers are set to kick off talks on Friday, with Europeans optimistic the world's wealthiest countries will support US-backed plans for a minimum global level of corporate tax. British finance minister Rishi Sunak will host the meeting -- which is being held in person after an easing of Covid restrictions -- with counterparts from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States. The talks will prepare the ground for a broader summit of G7 leaders in Cornwall, southwest England starting on June 11, which will be attended by US President Joe Biden on his first foreign tour since taking office in January. According to a draft communique seen by AFP, the finance chiefs and central bankers of the world's seven richest nations will express ‘strong support’ and a ‘high level of ambition’ over a global minimum corporate tax.