29 October 2018 – UK announces Digital Services Tax
On 29 October 2018, the UK Chancellor Philip Hammond announced that the UK will introduce a Digital Services Tax of 2% on the revenues that large social media platforms, search engines and online marketplaces earn (that are “linked to UK users”) from April 2020, raising c.£400m per annum. A document from Her Majesty's Treasury (HMT) outlining the proposals can be found here.
There are clearly design considerations that are not yet be finalised; the normal legislative process allows for consultation in the coming months (although this has not yet been released). The yearly revenue estimates are £5m in 2020, £275m in 2021, £370m in 2022, £400m in 2023, £440m in 2024.
There will be some differences from the proposals that are currently being discussed in the EU Council (as proposed by the European Commission in March 2018):
