UK consults on tax information reporting by digital platforms

On July 30, the UK HMRC opened a consultation on rules to require digital platforms to report to the tax authority information relating to the income of sellers operating on their platform.

The rules would implement OECD model rules on digital platform reporting that were published in June 2020. The OECD released a related international exchange framework and an optional extended scope to include additional types of services and sales in June 2021.

The UK is one of the first countries to opt into adopting the OECD model reporting rules for digital platforms. The government states that its objectives in adopting the rules include helping sellers to get their taxes right and tackling tax evasion (particularly through platforms in other jurisdictions).

The consultation asks about planned exclusions from the reporting obligation and about the scope of services to be covered. It announces that the government plans to adopt the optional extended scope published by the OECD in June of this year. This extends the scope beyond personal services (e.g., Uber) and property rentals (e.g., Airbnb) to also include the sales of certain goods and the rental of means of transportation.

The consultation also seeks feedback on the information to be reported, the form of reporting, and reporting deadlines, among other issues.

Comments will be accepted until October 22.

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