ITI Responds to Proposed UK Digital Services Tax
WASHINGTON – Today, global tech trade association ITI urged the United Kingdom (UK) to withdraw its digital services tax and reiterated its call for countries to commit to reaching a multilateral solution to address the tax challenges arising from the digitalization of the economy. The statement comes after the UK government included a proposal for a unilateral digital services tax in its budget. The UK is now the largest individual economy to advance such a measure.
“The digital services tax proposed by the UK represents the latest in a worrying and very real trend of countries departing from important multilateral efforts to secure an agreement on international tax reform,” said Jason Oxman, ITI President and CEO. “Furthermore, it stands to directly and disproportionately impact U.S.-headquartered tech companies. At a time when the U.S. and UK governments are poised to initiate negotiations aimed at deepening their trade and investment relationship, we urge the UK government to reconsider its national digital services tax and recommit to reaching a lasting, multilateral solution at the OECD.”
ITI remains engaged in the ongoing work around digital taxation and international tax reform. In January, ITI testified at a U.S. Section 301 Committee hearing on the U.S. Trade Representative’s investigation into France’s digital services tax. ITI also filed comments on the OECD’s ongoing work on this issue in November (Pillar One) and December 2019 (Pillar Two).
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