Group of 20 finance ministers agreed on Saturday to push ahead on compiling common rules that will close loopholes that global technology giants such as Facebook use to reduce their corporate taxes.

Facebook, Google, Amazon and other large technology firms have come under criticism for cutting their tax bills by booking profits in low-tax countries regardless of the location of the end customer, practices seen by many as unfair.

The new rules mean higher tax burdens for large multi-national firms, but will also make it more difficult for countries like Ireland to attract foreign direct investment with the promise of ultra-low corporate tax rates.

“We welcome the recent progress on addressing the tax challenges arising from digitisation and endorse the ambitious program that consists of a two-pillar approach,” the draft communique said.

“We will redouble our efforts for a consensus-based solution with a final report by 2020,” it added.

Britain and France have been among the most vocal proponents of proposals to tax big tech companies, which focus on making it more difficult to shift profits to low-tax jurisdictions and on the introduction of a minimum corporate tax.