Réformes de la fiscalité numérique internationale et exploitation minière : La question des différences temporelles

This report examines the impact of the OECD's Pillar Two global minimum tax proposal on the mining sector, specifically focusing on 'timing differences' between accounting profits and taxable income. It argues that without proper resolution of these differences, resource-rich developing countries could lose significant tax revenue and investment to developed nations where parent companies are headquartered.

• The Pillar Two proposal, specifically the Global Anti-Base Erosion (GloBE) rule, aims to establish a global minimum effective tax rate (ETR) to reduce tax competition and profit shifting. While this could discourage harmful tax incentives like tax holidays, the current design fails to adequately account for timing differences between accounting profits (used for the GloBE ETR) and taxable income (based on national tax laws).
• Timing differences are particularly acute in the mining sector due to high capital expenditures and the use of accelerated depreciation. Under local tax rules, investments are often amortized faster than under accounting standards, leading to a low or zero ETR in the early years of a project. If unresolved, this would trigger 'top-up taxes' payable in the parent company's jurisdiction rather than the host country, potentially transferring billions of dollars from developing to developed nations.
• Failure to resolve timing differences could reduce mining investments in developing countries by lowering the net present value of long-term projects. It also creates a risk of economic double taxation, where a parent company pays a top-up tax in its home country, and the subsidiary later pays tax on the same income to the host country, with credits only becoming available years later.
• The report evaluates three proposed solutions for timing differences: 1) A combination of loss carry-forwards and Income Inclusion Rule (IIR) tax credits, which is deemed insufficient for capital-intensive industries like mining; 2) Deferred tax accounting, which aligns with international standards and is transparent but relies on some estimates; and 3) Using local tax rules to calculate the GloBE ETR, which reduces industry judgment but increases administrative complexity and compliance burdens.
• Permanent differences, such as tax holidays, are also a concern. Many developing countries have stabilization clauses in mining contracts that prevent them from unilaterally changing tax terms. The report suggests that the BEPS Inclusive Framework should explicitly allow countries to modify these contracts to align with GloBE rules without violating stabilization agreements, preventing a situation where host countries lose revenue while parent countries collect the tax.
• Developing countries are disproportionately affected by these rules because their mining sectors are often less mature, with fewer assets to offset low-tax early-stage projects. In contrast, developed nations often have diversified mining sectors where mature assets can balance out the low ETR of new projects at the jurisdictional level.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (n.d.). Réformes de la fiscalité numérique internationale et exploitation minière : La question des différences temporelles. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-04/global-digital-tax-reforms-mining-fr.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. Réformes de la fiscalité numérique internationale et exploitation minière : La question des différences temporelles. n.d. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-04/global-digital-tax-reforms-mining-fr.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=Réformes de la fiscalité numérique internationale et exploitation minière : La question des différences temporelles |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-04/global-digital-tax-reforms-mining-fr.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopmentndrformes, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{Réformes de la fiscalité numérique internationale et exploitation minière : La question des différences temporelles}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-04/global-digital-tax-reforms-mining-fr.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }