Estonia asks EU to exempt it from GloBE global minimum tax

The Estonian government, led by Finance Minister Jürgen Ligi, announced on 30 November 2025 that it hopes the country will not be forced to apply the global minimum tax under the Global Anti‑Base Erosion (GloBE) rules. Ligi stressed that Estonia and other small European states need flexibility in adopting the rules.

The European Union has issued a directive that obliges all member states to adopt GloBE without exceptions, whereas Estonia proposes a side‑by‑side system used by the United States (US) to apply its own minimum tax (Global Intangible Low‑Taxed Income/GILTI). This approach, agreed by the G‑7, gives smaller jurisdictions the freedom to set their own minimum tax rates.

Estonia is one of five EU members postponing the implementation of the Income Inclusion Rule (IIR) and Undertaxed Payment Rule (UTPR) until 2030 under Article 50 of the directive, together with Latvia, Lithuania, Malta and Slovakia. Acceptance of the flexibility request could affect the EU’s economic competitiveness and shape future international tax policy.