Hammond mulls 'Amazon tax'

In an interview with Sky News, Chancellor Philip Hammond has suggested that an 'Amazon tax' might be in the pipeline. 

He said: "we're changing our shopping habits.

"More and more of us are buying online. Indeed, Britain has the biggest percentage of online shopping of any major developed economy. That means the high street will change.

"We're very clear that you have to support the high street through that process of change.

"The nature of the offer on the high street is going to change over time. There's going to be less retail, more leisure, bars, community facilities."

During a discussion on the latest GDP figures which showed 0.4% growth, Mr Hammond said that he wanted to ensure that taxation was fair to both online and bricks and mortar businesses, stating:

"The EU has been talking about a tax on online platform businesses based on value generated.

"That's certainly something we'd be prepared to consider.

"That requires us to renegotiate international tax treaties because many of the big online businesses are international companies.

"If we can't get international agreement to do this we may have to look at temporary tax measures to rebalance the playing field until we can get international agreements."

Source : Insight DIY Team

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