Healey expected to make online marketplaces collect tax owed by sellers, Times reports
The Times reported that John Healey is expected to make platforms such as Amazon, eBay and Temu responsible for collecting tax owed by sellers, raising up to £1bn. The Treasury declined to comment on the detail.
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The story, neutrally told
Centre · 1The Times reported on Tuesday 13 October that UK finance minister John Healey is expected to announce that online marketplaces such as Amazon.com, eBay and Temu will be made responsible for collecting tax owed by retailers selling on their platforms. CNAN “online marketplaces such as Amazon.com, eBay and Temu will be made responsible for collecting tax owed by retailers selling on their platforms, The Times reported on Tuesday.” Read at CNA ↗ Centre · 1The move is expected to raise up to £1 billion for the Treasury, according to the report. CNAN “The move is expected to raise up to £1 billion ($1.33 billion) for the Treasury, the report added.” Read at CNA ↗ Right · 1City A.M. said the announcement is expected at the Budget later this month, where the Chancellor is set to make marketplaces responsible for collecting VAT at source for each seller whose annual revenue is more than £90,000. City A.M.RC “The Chancellor is set to make online marketplaces responsible for collecting VAT at source for each of its sellers whose annual revenue is more than £90,000.” Read at City A.M. ↗
Right · 1The measure is meant to address concerns that foreign retailers are setting up UK shell companies to avoid paying VAT. City A.M.RC “This crackdown will seek to address concerns that foreign retailers are setting up UK shell companies to avoid paying VAT.” Read at City A.M. ↗ Right · 1According to City A.M., the revenue is expected to fund business rates cuts for high street retailers, which Andy Burnham had pledged; the Prime Minister promised during the Makerfield campaign to exclude 140,000 small high street retailers from business rates. City A.M.RC “The Treasury is expected to use revenues from this policy to fund business rates cuts for high street retailers, a move which has long been pledged by Andy Burnham.”“the Prime Minister pledged to exclude 140,000 small high street retailers from business rates” Read at City A.M. ↗ Right · 1Burnham had suggested a higher tax on "out of town" warehouses to pay for the break, which retail bosses fiercely opposed; John Lewis executive chairman Jason Tarry said it would "reveal a fundamental misunderstanding of how modern high streets work". The Chancellor is said to have ruled out a warehouse tax. City A.M.RC “Burnham had suggested he would hike tax on “out of town” warehouses to pay for this tax break, but retail bosses had been fiercely opposing this proposal.”“The Chancellor is said to have now ruled out a warehouse tax” Read at City A.M. ↗
Right · 1Dan Neidle, founder of Tax Policy Associates, told the Times the plan is "a step in the right direction" but that the Treasury should go further and make marketplaces responsible for collecting all VAT on sales, or "Chinese sham companies will find just another way around the rules"; City A.M. says Healey will face pressure to lower the threshold. City A.M.RC ““This is a step in the right direction but the Treasury needs to go further and make online marketplaces responsible for collecting every penny of VAT on the sales made on their platform.””“Healey will come under pressure to set this threshold lower.” Read at City A.M. ↗ Right · 1Amazon told the Times it supports the crackdown, saying closing the loophole would raise significant revenue and simplify compliance, though it estimated about £700m, below the government's own estimate. City A.M.RC “Amazon told The Times that it supported the crackdown on online retailers, which it estimated would raise about £700m for the Treasury – lower than the government’s own estimates.” Read at City A.M. ↗ Mixed · 2The Treasury declined to comment, saying decisions on tax are a matter for the Chancellor to set out at fiscal events; Amazon, eBay and Temu had not responded to CNA's requests when it published. CNAN “The Treasury declined to comment, saying decisions on tax are a matter for Healey to set out at fiscal events. Amazon, eBay, and Temu did not immediately respond to requests for comment.” Read at CNA ↗ City A.M.RC ““As has always been the case, decisions on tax are a matter for the chancellor to set out at fiscal events.”” Read at City A.M. ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left0 outlets
No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Centre1 outlet
- Framing
- Short relay of the Times scoop, framed as a tax crackdown on marketplaces.
- Emphasis
- The expected announcement, the £1bn yield and the Treasury's refusal to comment.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Omits the VAT threshold, the business rates link, Amazon's support and expert criticism.
- Charged language
- “tax crackdown”
- For example
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“is expected to announce that online marketplaces such as Amazon.com, eBay and Temu will be made responsible for collecting tax owed by retailers” — CNA
Right1 outlet
- Framing
- Presents the plan as a £1bn crackdown that funds high street tax cuts and is likely to please retailers.
- Emphasis
- Retail business rates, the ruled-out warehouse tax, retail bosses' welcome, and Chinese shell-company VAT avoidance.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Does not mention that eBay and Temu had not responded to comment requests.
- Charged language
- “crackdown”“Chinese sham companies”“loophole”
What every side reports
- Both outlets relay a Times report that Healey is expected to make online marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay and Temu responsible for collecting tax owed by sellers.
- Both report the figure of about £1bn and a Treasury statement that tax decisions are for fiscal events.
Where accounts differ
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How much the measure would raise
- Centre
- CNA relays the Times figure of up to £1 billion.
- Right
- City A.M. reports £1bn but notes Amazon's own estimate of about £700m, lower than the government's.
John Healey person
Reported as expected to announce the measure, with the Treasury saying tax decisions are for Healey to set out at fiscal events; Healey has not commented in the coverage.
“decisions on tax are a matter for Healey to set out at fiscal events” — CNA
Amazon organisation
Amazon told the Times it supports the crackdown, saying closing the loophole would raise significant revenue and simplify compliance, while estimating about £700m.
“Closing this loophole will raise significant revenue for the exchequer and simplify compliance for both HMRC and legitimate sellers.” — City A.M.
Left0 articles
No coverage yet.
Centre1 article
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CNAN ·
UK finance minister Healey to target online marketplaces in tax crackdown, The Times reports
Neutral Brief relay of the Times report with the Treasury's no-comment response.
Right1 article
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Healey plans £1bn e-commerce crackdown to fund retail tax breaks
Sympathetic Frames the plan as a trade-off that favours high street retailers over e-commerce rivals and avoids a warehouse tax.
- 13 Oct 23:03 First CNAN UK finance minister Healey to target online marketplaces in tax crackdown, The Times reports
- 14 Oct 07:42 +8h 38m City A.M.RC Healey plans £1bn e-commerce crackdown to fund retail tax breaks
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.
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