“I am currently quite optimistic that we can agree on a blueprint for both issues in autumn,” Scholz told a press conference after a meeting with German-speaking counterparts from Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg.

“We’ve been discussing for long enough. We are ready,” the social democratic politician said.

However, the United States in June suspended its participation in tax talks at the OECD that focus on digital multinationals like Amazon and Google.

Such companies tend to pay taxes in countries with low rates, rather than in the countries where revenues are generated.

Pointing to the current pandemic, Scholz said the crisis had shown that the international system only works under fair conditions. This also applies to corporate taxes, he said.

Swiss Finance Minister Ueli Maurer cautioned that a new international tax framework must not create administrative hurdles, and that it should not come into force too soon.

“Companies need time right now to recover from the Covid-19 crisis,” Maurer said.