The Government are considering an online sales tax (OST). This tax would be applied as a means to “rebalance the taxation of the retail sector between online and in-store retail” and comes in the wake of the recent business rates review.
The Government are currently undergoing a consultation to explore the potential impacts of an OST and assess the case for and against implementing such a tax. Questions exist over many areas of any potential OST, these include the different forms an OST could take and how to define an online sale reflecting the range of transaction, delivery, and collection options. There have also been discussions that this could be applied only to businesses with an online turnover above a certain level. For more information visit Gov.uk Online Sales Tax Consultation.
Thank you very much to members who responded to our survey below. This was very valuable as it enabled us to understand the views of GCA members, and effectively represent our industry during discussions at the recent IRC meeting. The clear message from GCA member responses was that a the concept of an OST was not a seen as an acceptable means to offset retailer business rates. We are now working with our friends at the IRC to feed back to government.
To understand the views of GCA members, we asked members to complete the attached questionnaire by 30th April 2022.
If you have any questions please on this issue please contact us.
