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Select Committee · Public Accounts Committee

Digital Services Tax

Status: Closed Opened: 31 Oct 2022 Closed: 27 Jun 2023 4 recommendations 16 conclusions 1 report

In April 2020 HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) introduced the Digital Services Tax, a 2% tax on the revenues of search engines, social media platforms and online marketplaces which derive value from UK users. The government expects to remove this tax when international reforms proposed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) are …

Clear

Reports

1 report
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Forty-Fourth Report - The Digital Services Tax HC 732 5 Apr 2023 20 Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

2 items
2 Recommendation Forty-Fourth Report - The Digital Servi… Accepted

HMRC implemented the Digital Services Tax with little cost, and the experience could provide valuable...

HMRC implemented the Digital Services Tax with little cost, and the experience could provide valuable lessons for other new taxes. HMRC implemented the tax on schedule for only £6.3 million, less than budgeted, though there will be ongoing compliance costs. The small population of payers (18 in 2020–21) means that …

Government response. The government agrees and says HMRC carries out an evaluation on the implementation of all measures that require new or updated systems and processes, and that they have since implemented other taxes learning lessons from the design and implementation of …
HM Treasury
4 Recommendation Forty-Fourth Report - The Digital Servi… Accepted

HM Treasury and HMRC have a vital role in ensuring that the multilateral assurance framework...

HM Treasury and HMRC have a vital role in ensuring that the multilateral assurance framework for Pillar One of the OECD reforms will meet Parliament’s desire for accountability and transparency. The 140 jurisdictions involved in the development and implementation of the reforms will have very differing cultures around the transparency …

Government response. The government agrees and will write to the committee with the UK's objectives for the multilateral administrative framework, including audit arrangements and states that the forecasted revenues for Amount A will be published in the usual way after OBR scrutiny, …
HM Treasury

Oral evidence sessions

1 session
Date Witnesses
8 Dec 2022 Jim Harra · HMRC, Jon Sherman · HMRC, Mike Williams · HM Treasury View ↗

Correspondence

2 letters
DateDirectionTitle
27 Jun 2023 — Joint correspondence from Beth Russell, Second Permanent Secretary, HM Treasury…
12 Jan 2023 — Correspondence from Victoria Atkins MP, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, re…