With the United Kingdom preparing to leave the European Union, the country has just taken the bold legislative step of a tax on digital services, thereby stealing a march on the other member states of the EU, which are struggling to agree on the principle of the European tax (see other article), and on the OECD countries.
The British Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, on Monday 29 October announced the creation of a tax targeting the Internet giants, in his budgetary declaration at the House of Commons.
The proposal bears several resemblances to its EU counterpart. However, its threshold will be 2% and from April 2020 onwards, it will apply to companies whose global turnovers exceed £500 million.
It will apply to earnings generated through the data of British users collected by search engines, social media platforms or online markets.
The tax is intended to be temporary and the British government remains committed to an international solution. A revision clause will be included to reassess the need to keep this tax in place in 2025, depending on progress made in international fora and the tax will be removed altogether once a solution has been found within an OECD framework, the government stresses.
At least 13 EU member states – most recently Spain – are reported to have taken similar measures or are planning to do so at national level in the near future. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)