LONDON (Reuters) – Britain plans to tax retailers and technology companies whose profits have risen during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sunday Times reported, citing leaked emails.
The government has convened companies to discuss how an online sales tax would work, while plans are also being drawn up for a single “excessive profits tax,” the newspaper reported.
Finance Minister Rishi Sunak is unlikely to announce these taxes in the budget announcement scheduled for March 3, which will focus on an extension of the COVID-19 program and business support, according to the report.
It is likely to come to the surface during the second half of the year.
Sunak faces pressure from some members of his Conservative party to show that spending is under control when he introduces a new budget, after what is on track to be the heaviest annual debt since World War II.
He has promised to put public finances on a sustainable footing once the economy begins to recover. Last month’s data showed public lending since the start of the year in April hit a record £ 271 billion ($ 370 billion).
The finance ministry was not immediately available to comment on the Sunday Times report.
Report by Andy Bruce; Edited by Dan Grebler