LONDON (Reuters) – Britain plans to tax retailers and technology companies whose profits have skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sunday Times reported, citing leaked emails.
The government has called on businesses to discuss how an online sales tax would work, while also making plans for a one-time “ excessive profit tax, ” the paper reports.
Treasury Secretary Rishi Sunak is unlikely to announce these taxes in the March 3 budget announcement, which will focus on an extension of the COVID-19 leave program and support for businesses, the report said.
Instead, they are likely to emerge in the second half of the year.
Sunak is under pressure from some in his Conservative Party to show spending is under control when he presents a new budget, after what is on track to become the heaviest annual loan since World War II.
He has pledged to put public finances on a sustainable basis once the economy recovers. Data from last month showed that public loans hit a record 271 billion pounds ($ 370 billion) since the start of the financial year in April.
The Treasury Department was not immediately available for comment on the Sunday Times report.
Reporting by Andy Bruce; Editing by Dan Grebler