UK Treasury chief optimistic on tax deal targeting big tech

LONDON — Britain’s Treasury chief says he’s optimistic the world’s richest countries will agree on a plan to tax internet companies and other multinationals on their global profits during two days of meetings that begin Friday in London.

Finance ministers from the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations are meeting amid growing support for a global minimum corporate tax, which is backed by U.S President Joe Biden. An endorsement from the G-7 could help build support for a deal in talks among more than 140 countries being held in Paris.

“I’m hugely optimistic that we will deliver some concrete outcomes this weekend,’’ Treasury chief Rishi Sunak said in a statement. “Together we can make a real change and help steer the international community through the next stage of our recovery.”

London is hosting the meeting because Britain currently holds the G-7’s rotating presidency. Leaders of the seven countries will hold their annual meetings June 11-13 in Carbis Bay, Cornwall, at England’s southwestern tip.