Brits Still Reckon Big Tech Isn't Paying Enough Tax

Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:

Poll finds two-thirds support squeeze on Silicon Valley despite US pressure:

The majority of Britons still believe Big Tech should be contributing more to the public purse, new research suggests.

Polling by the Fair Tax Foundation, shared with The Register, found that 67 percent of respondents believe the UK should ensure large technology companies such as Meta, Google, Apple, and Amazon pay more in Digital Services Tax (DST) to increase their overall tax contribution.

The same proportion of Brits said the government should aim to become a world leader in regulating cryptocurrencies and other digital assets to help prevent tax avoidance and evasion.

The findings arrive as the future of the UK's Digital Services Tax continues to attract scrutiny on both sides of the Atlantic. Introduced in 2020, the levy was designed to extract more money from online giants that generate substantial revenues from UK users while often reporting profits elsewhere. Last year alone, the tax raised around 800 million for the Treasury.

Not everyone has been thrilled by the arrangement. President Donald Trump threatened in April to impose a "big tariff" on British imports if the government refused to drop the Digital Services Tax, arguing it unfairly targets US tech giants.

The British public, however, appear less concerned, and the polling suggests support extends well beyond the digital tax itself. Three-quarters of respondents said they would prefer to work for a company that can demonstrate it pays its fair share of tax, while 74 percent said they would rather spend money with such a business. More than seven in ten backed requiring fair tax practices from companies bidding for public sector contracts, while 82 percent supported similar requirements for firms receiving government bailout funds.

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