LONDON (Reuters) – Britain plans to tax retailers and technology companies whose profits rose during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sunday Times reported, citing leaked emails.
The government has called on companies to discuss how an online sales tax would work, while developing plans for a single “excessive profit tax,” the newspaper reported.
Finance Minister Rishi Sunak is unlikely to announce these taxes in the March 3 budget announcement, which will focus on expanding the COVID-19 program and supporting businesses, the report said.
Instead, it is likely to appear in the second half of the year.
Sunak is under pressure from his Conservative party to show that spending is under control when it presents a new budget, after what is about to be the heaviest annual loan in World War II.
He promised to put public finances on a sustainable footing once the economy begins to recover. Last month’s data showed public lending since the beginning of the financial year in April, reaching a record £ 271 billion ($ 370 billion).
The finance ministry was not immediately available for comment on the Sunday Times report.
Reporting by Andy Bruce; Edited by Dan Grebler