Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the taxation rate for online accommodation booking businesses.
There is no difference in the VAT treatment of business activity based on the mode of delivery. UK VAT rules apply equally to accommodation bookings, whether made online or not.
The government also announced a new Digital Services Tax at Budget 2018. From April 2020 this will apply a 2% tax to the UK revenues of search engines, social media platforms and online marketplaces, and is forecast to raise £1.5bn over four years.