UK Parliament Moving Forward on Introduction of DST

On 11 June 2020, The UK House of Commons Financial Bill Committee approved provisions of the 2020 Finance Bill for the introduction of a digital services tax (DST). Despite calls for an increase in the rate, the DST is to apply at a rate of 2% as originally proposed on the revenues of search engines, social media platforms, and online marketplaces that derive value from UK users. These businesses will be liable to DST when the group’s worldwide revenue from these digital activities exceeds GBP 500 million and revenue from UK users exceeds GBP 25 million. The DST is to apply from 1 April 2020, with rules for apportionment for the first period for taxpayers not following the standard UK accounting period (e.g., first period 1 April to 31 December 2020 if following calendar year).