digital services
In recent years the UK government, like other governments, has sought to tax business activity on the Internet. The Finance Act 2020 ss 39–72 creates a new tax on “digital services”, which it defines as “(a) a social media service, (b) an internet search engine, or (c) an online marketplace”. Digital Services Tax is a charge on UK digital services revenue (not profit), from 1 April 2020, at a rate of 2% on annual revenue above £25 million. There is a formula for determining that part of the revenue of a company operating internationally that is to be regarded as “UK digital services revenue”.

This is in addition to UK VAT, which is levied on a supply of goods or services in the UK (Value Added Tax Act 1994 s 4). The Finance Act 2018 gave HM Revenue and Customs new powers to extract VAT for a supply through an “online marketplace”, which is defined as “a website … by which information is made available … through which persons … are able to offer goods for sale” (see VAT Act 1994 s 77B and sch 1A). The meaning of “supply in the UK” is exhaustively explored in relation to a Dutch company dispatching goods to UK customers in Healthspan Ltd v R & C Commrs [2018] UKFTT 241 (TC). The Court of Appeal explored the VAT liability of the online booking services provided by lastminute.com and Holiday Autos in Secret Hotels2 Ltd v R & C Commrs [2012] EWCA Civ 1571, holding that the services provided fall within the charge to UK VAT, even though the hotels and cars provided are outside the UK.

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