13 Accepted

Legislative decisions, implementation decisions and the operation of compliance regimes for Pillars One and Two...

Conclusion
Legislative decisions, implementation decisions and the operation of compliance regimes for Pillars One and Two will be carried out in line with agreed conventions. As previously stated, the OECD’s Pillar One is due to supersede the Digital Services Tax in 2024, and HM Treasury is keen for this to happen as quickly as possible.39 Pillar One would require new legislation, which would include the repeal of the Digital Services Tax.40 We asked what would happen if a multilateral consensus on implementation of the reforms was not achieved. The Departments explained that the legislation required a review of the Digital Services Tax in 2025, and there would be interest in what other countries were doing.41 What happens next would depend on whether the reforms were held up by a glitch or had fallen by the wayside completely, as the Digital Services Tax might not be sustainable in the long term.42
Government Response Summary
The government agrees, committing to implement Pillar One and repeal DST, and details enhanced plans for DST compliance, including identifying non-cooperating groups and increasing awareness, to be completed in 2023 in case Pillar One is delayed.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government Accepted
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: 2024 Amount A of Pillar One reallocates taxing rights over 25% of profits in excess of a 10% profit margin of multinational businesses with global revenue greater than €20 billion, from the jurisdictions in which valuable activities are undertaken to the jurisdictions where customers are located. Amount B of Pillar One seeks to simplify and streamline the application of the arm’s length principle to baseline marketing and distribution activities with a view to addressing the needs of low-capacity jurisdictions and reducing the potential for disputes between tax administrations and taxpayers. The aim is for the design of Pillar One rules to be finalised in 2023. Amount A will then only come into effect globally after a critical mass of jurisdictions signs and ratifies the multilateral convention. Countries would be required under the convention to remove DSTs once Amount A has come into effect. After the multilateral convention has been agreed, Parliament will be able to scrutinise and ratify the convention through normal Parliamentary procedures before Amount A of Pillar One is implemented. The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: end 2023 The government is committed to implementing Amount A of Pillar One and repealing DST. Ahead of the implementation of Pillar One, the government will continue to monitor DST as part of usual policy maintenance. HMRC has a dedicated DST compliance team working collaboratively with groups to understand their relevant online services and methodologies to identify ‘UK Users’. Where HMRC disagrees with a group’s position, appropriate compliance activity is undertaken. This will continue to be undertaken if DST is in force longer than anticipated. HMRC is enhancing its plans for identifying groups potentially within scope of DST, increasing awareness of DST amongst businesses and addressing the risks posed by groups without a physical presence in the UK that may not regularly engage with HMRC. These plans seek to address the risk of future non-cooperation with the regime and are due to be completed in 2023.
Addressee Bodies
HM Treasury
Timeline
Recommendation age 3.3 yrs
Report published 05 Apr 2023