LONDON (Reuters) – Britain said on Thursday that it would phase out its Digital Services Tax on U.S. tech giants such as Google and Facebook once a global reform to corporate taxation takes effect in 2023, avoiding a threat of tariffs from the United States.
“We have agreed a way forward on how we transition from our Digital Services Tax to the newly agreed global tax system,” finance minister Rishi Sunak said in a statement.
“This agreement means that our Digital Services Tax is protected as we move to 2023, so its revenue can continue to fund vital public services,” he added.
Tax paid under the Digital Services Tax after January 2022 can be credited against future British corporation tax bills if it exceeds the amount payable under new global rules on taxing multinationals which have been agreed via the OECD, Britain’s finance ministry added.
(Reporting by David Milliken, editing by Andy Bruce)
