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BUSINESS RATES

Budget 2018: Google and Amazon to be hit by new tax

The chancellor announces a new UK digital services tax aimed at giants such as Google and Amazon

A new UK digital services tax aimed at giants such as Google and Amazon will be narrowly targeted on UK-generated revenues  from April 2020.

Chancellor Philip Hammond said in the Budget the established tech giants will bear the burden of the tax, which is expected to raise £400m a year and will only be paid by companies with sales of at least £500m a  year in global revenues.

The chancellor said progress on a new global agreement was the ‘best solution but progress is painfully slow' and the Government would continue to work with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to seek a global solution.

 It was ‘only right that the global giants paid their fair share towards our public services', he added.

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