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RISHI SUNAK PRAISES G7 CORPORATE TAX AGREEMENT The Chancellor hailed the ”historic agreement”, struck after a meeting of G7 finance ministers, earlier this month, with countries committing

to a global minimum corporate tax of at least 15 percent on a country by country basis. Tax consultant Bob Lyddon said the UK’s newfound freedom outside of the bloc had enabled it to forge

an alliance with the United States - and President Joe Biden - which would have been unthinkable if it had not quit the EU. RELATED ARTICLES Mr Lyddon said the deal offered a mechanism that

would enable the UK to recoup large sums of revenue from tech giants which have enormous operations in the UK but are based for tax purposes in Ireland and Luxembourg. He told Express.co.uk:

“It was a major financial issue for the UK while we were inside the EU. “It costs HMRC at least £10billion pounds per annum. That's more than the net membership fee of being in the EU.

Boris Johnson and US President Joe Biden (Image: GETTY) Rishi Sunak met with other G7 finance ministers earlier this month (Image: GETTY) “So basically while we were in the EU there was

£10billion in lost tax per annum, at least. “We could not win on this issue, we couldn't even raise the issue, while we were in the EU. Impossible.” Mr Lyddon explained: “Firstly, the

Commission has got to cater for other member states, such as Luxembourg and Ireland, who are the source of the abuse. “Anything we would do would be watered down so it was really difficult

to get some progress within the discussions within the EU, because it would really require a treaty change, it would require a change to the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU. READ MORE: 

‘NOBODY ASKED THEM!’ BREXITEER SILENCES COVENEY OVER EU DEAL Joe Biden and Boris Johnson at last weekend's G7 summit in Cornwall (Image: GETTY) RELATED ARTICLES “And such a change has

to be voted on unanimously, and these countries would never vote for that - it would be turkeys voting for Christmas.” Mr Lyddon, who first identified the problem in a report published on

the Brexit Papers website in 2019, said the deal actually ran counter to the bloc’s single market rules. He said: “Because, actually, this new deal contradicts one of the four freedoms of

the single market, that of freedom of establishment, in other words guaranteeing companies and citizens the right to provide services without restrictions in any member country. “If it

doesn't cancel the freedom of establishment, in this area it changes the rules significantly so that member states can't just attract business because of tax competition.

DON'T MISS Rishi Sunak and French finance minister Bruno Le Maire (Image: GETTY) Tax rates mapped (Image: Express) “So that freedom of establishment in the single market is strongly

circumscribed and that's important.” Not being a member of the EU had been crucial, Mr Lyddon stressed. He explained: “How could we have buddied up with the US and Biden if we still in

the bloc? “Biden said at some point my heart is in Dublin. Well, his heart may be there but his wallet is on Pennsylvania Avenue. Boris Johnson's Cabinet (Image: Express) “We are on the

same side and we’d never have managed this bargaining, within the EU, because we would have had to negotiate through the EU and subjected to their watering down to cater for Luxembourg and

Ireland. “If the HMRC do their job properly, they could get £10billion a year out of this, easily. “They need to examine all the accounts that have come in from Facebook, Google, Amazon UK

etc because they’ve all got a UK company. “They must not accept any of these charges that would get cooked up, usage of intellectual property, royalties, that might diminish that. US

President Joe Biden's "wallet is in Pennsylvania Avenue", said Mr Lyddon (Image: GETTY) “They need to say, this is an international agreement, there's the figure and you

pay 19 percent or more, 25 percent. “Rishi Sunak needs to issue detailed instructions to say to companies, here’s your bill, pay it and if you successfully challenge it, you can have your

money but the first thing is to pay up. It’s time to play hardball.” Speaking on June 5, Mr Sunak said the need for national digital services taxes would fall away once the global solution

is in place. He added: "After years of discussion, G7 finance ministers have reached a historic agreement to reform the global tax system to make it fit for the global digital

age."