Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Taxation: Online Multinational Corporations

Tuesday 3 December 2024 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Ministerial steps include finalising the implementation of internationally agreed rules for a minimum 15% effective tax rate for online multinationals globally.
  • The Government aim to issue permanently lower tax rates for high street retail, hospitality, and other affected sectors to support local businesses.
  • Concerns raised about Amazon's tax contributions in the UK compared to high street businesses in Lloyd Hatton's constituency.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Lloyd Hatton Lab South Dorset
Taxation
Context

The question arises from the concern that online multinationals are not paying a fair share of taxes compared to traditional businesses, potentially harming local economies.

Question

What steps she is taking to increase the level of tax paid by online multinational corporations. I am concerned about the impact on local high streets and the need for these companies to contribute fairly.

Answer from James Murray

Ensuring that online multinationals pay their fair share of tax is crucial, so the Government are finalising the implementation of internationally agreed rules for a minimum 15% effective rate globally. As set out in the corporate tax road map, we are seeking an international solution for a fair tax allocation of multinational profits. Meanwhile, the digital services tax ensures that search engines, social media platforms and online marketplaces pay UK tax reflecting a UK-derived value.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific measures to ensure Amazon pays its fair share were not addressed.

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Q2 Lloyd Hatton Lab South Dorset
Taxation Business & Trade
Context

Concerns about the unfair competition between high street businesses and online giants, particularly in relation to tax contributions.

Question

Amazon currently makes hundreds of millions of pounds in profits in the UK each year, and often gets away with paying little to no corporation tax. Meanwhile, high street businesses in Weymouth, Portland and Swanage in my constituency pay their fair share. To level the playing field, will the Chancellor consider further measures to ensure that online giants always pay their fair share of tax? I fear that, without action, our high streets will always be at an unfair disadvantage.

Answer from James Murray

My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and supporting the high street is at the heart of our ambitions when it comes to business rates reform. On Second Reading of the Finance Bill last week, in which I spoke, we set out our plans to issue permanently lower tax rates for high street retail, hospitality and leisure properties. That will be paid for through an increase in the tax rate on properties with a rateable value above £500,000, a category that includes the warehouses used by many of the online giants to whom my hon. Friend has referred.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific measures targeting Amazon's tax contributions were not addressed directly.

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