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Digital Technology: Taxation

Question for Treasury

UIN HL2516, tabled on 11 March 2020

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to increase the amount of tax paid by Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft or Google.

Answered on

25 March 2020

While it would not be appropriate to comment on individual taxpayers, the Government has taken significant steps to ensure that multinational businesses, including those in the digital and tech sector, pay their fair share of tax in the UK.

The Government used the UK’s Presidency of the G8 to initiate the OECD-G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting project and has acted swiftly to implement the recommendations of that project in UK law, raising multiple billions in tax revenue for the Exchequer.

The Government has also announced the introduction of a new digital services tax from April 2020.

This is forecast to raise £2 billion over the next five years and will ensure that the UK tax paid by social media platforms, online marketplaces and search engines is reflective of their activities in the UK.

Answered by

Treasury