Uber settles £615m VAT claim with HMRC

Uber has confirmed in its third quarter results it has agreed to a £615m settlement with HMRC in order to resolve a claim it should have charged VAT on fares.

It comes following a series of judicial judgements that found the ride-share and delivery company’s business model was unlawful. It was also ruled that the company had to treat its drivers as members of staff rather than contractors.

In the trading update Uber said: “On October 31, 2022, we resolved all outstanding HMRC VAT claims related to periods prior to our model change on March 14, 2022. We do not expect any significant impact to the income statement as we have adequate reserves recorded as of September 30, 2022, related to this resolution. We expect a cash outflow of approximately £615m during Q4 2022 for this resolution.”

A HMRC spokesperson told Sky News: “HMRC has concluded a tax dispute with Uber concerning VAT due in the UK.

“This is a good result for the UK taxpayer and one that we would have reasonably expected to achieve in the court, fully in line with our Litigation and Settlement Strategy. HMRC never compromises on its view of the law in order to secure a tax agreement. We will not settle for any amount less than we would reasonably expect to obtain from going to court.”