Ahead of IMF and G20 meetings, new debt relief measures move forward and 136 countries finalized an agreement on a minimum corporate tax.

"In the face of the pandemic, we are seeing progress on corporate and digital taxes,” said Eric LeCompte, the Executive Director of Jubilee USA Network. "Questions remain on whether or not we can agree on a high enough tax rate and to what degree developing countries will benefit."

.Members of the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting signed the “Statement on the Two-Pillar Solution to Address the Tax Challenges Arising from the Digitalization of the Economy." The agreement updates and finalizes a reform of tax rules proposed in July.

As poor countries struggle with revenue to confront the coronavirus crisis, the IMF announced it will extend debt payment relief for 24 countries through January 10, 2022. Additional relief may be extended to April 13, 2022, if the IMF's Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust has resources.

"Expanding debt relief for the poorest countries is urgently needed,” stated LeCompte, a United Nations finance expert who worked on the IMF's debt relief trust. "The cancelled debt payments mean that needed funds can be directed to pandemic response."