offbeat
Online marketplaces could find themselves buying the next round as the PM looks to tax ecommerce to save the local
Andy Burnham has found a novel way to back the local pub: make the digital marketplace help pick up the tab.The UK prime minister on Thursday promised pubs, social clubs, and live music venues in England a 20 percent cut in business rates from April 2027, a package worth around £100 million a year that the government says will benefit nearly 32,000 venues. Alongside it, ministers announced plans to squeeze more unpaid tax from sellers using online marketplaces.Rather than simply footing the bill from the public purse, the government says it will consult on extending online marketplaces' VAT liability, making them more responsible for stopping third-party sellers from dodging tax. Any extra revenue raised would be funneled back into the business rates system.
"The Government will also crack down on businesses that sell through online marketplaces but do not comply with their tax obligations, putting them at an unfair advantage over businesses that play by the rules," the announcement said. "Revenue raised from these reforms will be reinvested in improvements to the business rates system."
