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Chancellor Rishi Sunak will reportedly wait until autumn before deciding whether or not to impose a UK online sales tax which will attempt to level the playing field between online retailers and the high street.
According to the Financial Times, Sunak is waiting until US president Joe Biden’s administration team reveals if it will support measures to change global digital tax rules being led by the OECD, a Paris-based organisation.
On Tuesday 23 March, the chancellor is expected to publish a number of tax-related consultations along with a number of responses to the review of business rates. It is believed that Suank is considering making a change to the rates at the same time as imposing a tax on the sale of online goods.
The idea of an online sales tax was first introduced last July, with Sunak supposedly believing that it would help support brick and mortar stores during the pandemic.
At the time, it was also reported that the chancellor saw the measure as a way to help the UK pay off some of its debts following a period of extensive borrowing during the pandemic.
