Corporate Taxes

Anyone with even a passing interest in tech or tax will be aware of recent hubbub around the proposed introduction of a UK digital services tax (DST).  The new tax, which will be targeted at specific highly digitised profit-making business models that generate over £500m, was announced by the Chancellor, Philip Hammond, at the recent Autumn Budget.

MPs debated and agreed clauses 1-4 of Finance Bill (No.3), agreeing that the government should continue to levy income tax and corporation tax, and the rates of income tax for 2019-20. Attempts by opposition MPs to get the committee to take oral evidence from experts, and to require the government to review aspects of tax policy, were rejected.

Chancellor Philip Hammond said in his Conservative Conference speech that Britain will unilaterally implement a digital service tax if there is no international agreement soon on how to tax big internet companies, blaming US tax reforms for slow multilateral progress. Speaking at a CIOT/IFS fringe debate at Conservative conference the next day, titled ‘What does fair business taxation look like in a digital world?’ Tax Minister Mel Stride said to ‘expect some things coming down the line’ from the Treasury on Hammond’s pledge.