The referenced Directive is the result of the implementation within the European Union of the results of the work of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) aimed at eliminating the tax practices of multinational enterprises that allow them to shift their profits to countries where they are subject to no or very low taxation.

One of the main objectives of the reform of international tax law was to reduce competition on CIT rates by establishing a global minimum level of taxation. The mechanism provided for in the OECD Model Rules is based on two interrelated arrangements (principles) aimed at levying an additional amount of tax (compensatory taxation) if the effective tax rate of an international group in a jurisdiction is below 15 per cent. These are: the principle of inclusion of taxable income and the principle of under-taxed profits.

The GloBE Directive and the Polish law cover both international groups and domestic groups, i.e. groups whose component units are all located in the same Member State. The consolidated revenue threshold that determines the obligation to apply the provisions of the Act is EUR 750 million. Component units are understood as units of international groups or national groups. In accordance with the GloBE Directive, the Act exempts the application of the provisions in respect of certain component units, mainly those which do not generally carry out commercial or economic activities but perform activities of general interest and which, for these reasons, may not be subject to taxation in the Member State in which they are located.

The calculation of the effective tax rate will not take place at the level of the constituent unit concerned, but at the level of the country (jurisdiction) concerned. The calculation of the effective tax rate for a country requires the determination of two elements, i.e. the sum of the adjusted taxes of the qualified component units from the country (jurisdiction) concerned and the qualified net income of those component units. The effective tax rate of the multinational group in each country in which it operates, or of the domestic group, should then be compared with the agreed minimum tax rate of 15%. Where the effective tax rate calculated for a country is lower than the minimum tax rate, in principle the ultimate parent company should apply the principle of inclusion of taxable income to its low-taxed constituent units in order to equalise the level of taxation to the minimum tax rate.