Egypt has joined 129 countries in a historical undertaking which could lead to a global minimum tax, part of international efforts to battle global tax evasion by multinational companies that rely on digital platforms, particularly in an increasingly digital economy.

According to Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait, Egypt agreed on a global minimum tax to keep multinational firms from dodging taxes by shifting their profits to countries with low rates.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which is guiding the negotiations, estimates that governments lose revenue of between $100 billion and $240 billion to tax avoidance each year.

News on the potential GMT, or global minimum tax, broke early June during the G7 summit’s meeting of financial ministers.

If the tax is passed and enacted globally, the GMT will effectively end tax evasion techniques favored by international companies that book profits in jurisdictions where they pay little or no tax as a form of tax avoidance.

These locations are more often than not separate from where the company’s operations and majority of employees are.

“That deal will preserve Egypt’s tax receipts from the multinational companies’ activity in the Egyptian market, and it is expected to enhance Egypt’s tax revenues from companies working in the digital area in the domestic market,” Maait explained.

Maait made his comments during the 12th conference of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on measuring tax regulatory performance.

The final deal is set to be announced by October.

An official statement on the agreement highlights “digital companies,” without directly mentioning names, which were subject of many tax inquiries in several EU and US areas as the main sector that will feel the most change.

“After years of intense work and negotiations, this historic package will ensure that large multinational companies pay their fair share of tax everywhere,” said OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann.

According to advisor to the Finance Minister on Tax Policy, Ramy Yousef, Egypt has been part of the process for the past several years, contributing to drafting the deal and will continue to work with the members of the OECD’s program on base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) to settle the technical details of the agreement.

Tax BEPS particularly affect developing countries, which disproportionately rely on corporate income tax, according to OECD.

So far, only 9 out of 139 countries have refused to sign the proposal. Low tax areas Ireland, Estonia and Hungary joined tax havens Kenya, Nigeria, Peru, Sri Lanka, Barbados, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines against the tax measures.