HM Treasury recently published a call for evidence on VAT and the Sharing Economy. The aim is to test the government’s assessment of VAT challenges created by the Sharing Economy and to explore next steps.
The consultation document defines the Sharing Economy as “an accessibility-based socio-economic model, typically enabled or facilitated via advanced technological solutions and trust-building tools, whereby human or physical resources and/or assets are accessible (for temporary use)/shared – to a large extent – among individuals for either monetary or non-monetary benefits or a combination of both.” To ensure broad scope of analysis, the government urges responders to “consider in scope any digital platform which facilitates the supply of services between two or more unconnected parties, where those services do not involve any transfers in the ownership of tangible or intangible property. In practice, these services will generally take the form of individuals hiring out either their labour or renting out their assets, or a combination of both, in return for consideration…”
Source: SOVOS
