Content area
Abstract
Barrister Jo Maugham QC, via the Good Law Project Limited, is trying to raise Pounds 75,000 ($93,000) to challenge Uber about its tax liability in court to force the company into charging the standard 20% VAT rate on all it fares and remit the tax to the UK tax authority, HMRC. Maugham has decided to take action because he believes HMRC is failing to tackle tax avoidance by multinationals or become more transparent about its dealings with the world's biggest businesses - a view also expressed on several occasions by the UK Public Accounts Committee (PAC). Uber gets served The campaign against Uber's VAT liability was launched in March 2017 - five months after Uber lost an Employment Tribunal case in October 2016 over employment terms and faced a big tax bill for unpaid employment taxes. "Drivers who use the Uber app are subject to the same VAT laws as any other transportation provider in the UK," the company told International Tax Review. Another big tax bill Uber already faces a substantial tax bill if it loses its appeal against the Employment Tribunal's decision. Tribunal appeal complicates matters The VAT dispute in court will focus on whether it is Uber making the taxable supplies, or its drivers. John Christensen, director of the Tax Justice Network, said HMRC remains "aloof" and "seems unwilling to react to public concerns about how tax avoidance harms market quality in addition to depriving the exchequer of much needed resources".