The CIOT has welcomed the detail contained in the digital services tax (DST) legislation in the Finance Bill about how to calculate revenues attributed to UK users, although questions remain around identifying the relevant components of what is within the charge to tax. The legislation offers more clarity in relation to online marketplaces and platforms, but there is continuing uncertainty around whether online gambling and gaming platforms are in or out of scope.
Glyn Fullelove, president of the CIOT, stressed that the new taxing right on revenues introduced by the DST is only a proxy for global agreement on new ways of allocating profits to be taxed in the UK which have not previously been subject to tax here. As a tax on revenues, the DST ‘will inevitably over-tax some companies and under-tax others’, he said.
Fullelove added, ‘The government must manage expectations and the public perception of the taxation of the largest digital businesses, the impact of the DST and what it is intended to achieve and what it can achieve’.
Businesses subject to the new digital services tax (DST) will need to register within 90 days of the end of their first DST accounting period. As DST applies to accounting periods from 1 April 2020, HMRC has updated its guidance on registration with a reminder that groups with accounting periods ending soon after 1 April may need to take action promptly to avoid possible penalties.
The CIOT has welcomed the detail contained in the digital services tax (DST) legislation in the Finance Bill about how to calculate revenues attributed to UK users, although questions remain around identifying the relevant components of what is within the charge to tax. The legislation offers more clarity in relation to online marketplaces and platforms, but there is continuing uncertainty around whether online gambling and gaming platforms are in or out of scope.
Glyn Fullelove, president of the CIOT, stressed that the new taxing right on revenues introduced by the DST is only a proxy for global agreement on new ways of allocating profits to be taxed in the UK which have not previously been subject to tax here. As a tax on revenues, the DST ‘will inevitably over-tax some companies and under-tax others’, he said.
Fullelove added, ‘The government must manage expectations and the public perception of the taxation of the largest digital businesses, the impact of the DST and what it is intended to achieve and what it can achieve’.
Businesses subject to the new digital services tax (DST) will need to register within 90 days of the end of their first DST accounting period. As DST applies to accounting periods from 1 April 2020, HMRC has updated its guidance on registration with a reminder that groups with accounting periods ending soon after 1 April may need to take action promptly to avoid possible penalties.
