UK plans to tax businesses that profited from pandemic: Sunday Times

Economic news

Reuters staff

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain is considering taxing retailers and tech companies whose profits have skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sunday Times reported, citing leaked emails.

The government has summoned companies to discuss how an online sales tax works, while plans are also underway for a single “excessive profit tax,” the newspaper reported.

Finance Minister Rishi Sunak is unlikely to announce these taxes during the budget announcement scheduled for March 3, which will focus on an extension of the COVID-19 holiday program and support for businesses, according to the report. .

Rather, they should resurface in the second half of the year.

Sunak faces pressure from some in his Conservative Party to show spending is under control when he presents a new budget, after what is set to be the biggest annual borrowing since World War II.

He pledged to put public finances on a sustainable footing once the economy begins to recover. Data last month showed government borrowing since the start of the fiscal year in April hit a record 271 billion pounds ($ 370 billion).

The Finance Department was not immediately available for comment on the Sunday Times report.