UK Chancellor Philip Hammond has announced a Treasury crackdown on big tech firms which use complex, offshore tax structures to minimize their UK tax bill. He said the government would tax British royalties held in offshore accounts starting next year.
Hammond didn’t name names, but a Treasury source said the rule change would feasibly apply to big tech firms like Apple, Amazon, and Uber, which use complex offshore arrangements to minimize their taxable income in the UK, according to Business Insider.
Since the UK’s tax authority can’t tax an overseas subsidiary, it will charge a “withholding tax”, meaning the money will be deducted at source. According to Hammond, the changes will raise £200 million a year for the UK government.
