Biden’s plans for a global corporate tax rate could make the world a fairer place

If it can be achieved, the president's goal will transform the economic balance of power

More than a decade has passed without any progress in bringing the global tax system into the modern age. But less than three months after taking office, President Joe Biden has raised hopes of a breakthrough, with proposals that could kill tax havens dead and force multinationals to pay a fairer share of tax.

The change in tone could not be more marked. With last week's proposal for a global minimum corporate tax rate, Washington has turned away from years of economic orthodoxy that stretched back to the early 1980s and prioritised a neoliberal world vision - of free-market competition, government indifference and unblinking advocacy of globalisation.