UK Finance Response to OST Consultation

We welcome the opportunity to respond to the HM Treasury (HMT) consultation regarding the potential Online Sales Tax (OST).

Our responses to the specific questions raised in the public consultation are below, and focus on whether or not financial services could or should be within the scope of an OST.
The primary view of UK Finance and its members at this time is that financial services should be outside the scope of (or exempt from) an OST, to prevent distortions and unintended consequences from the tax on providing financial services. This would also be consistent with the exempt treatment of financial services in the Digital Services Tax.
We have also included other comments where raised by members within UK Finance, but otherwise we have not commented on most questions raised in the consultation, where these are more appropriately addressed by online retailers likely to be more impacted by an OST.
Should HMT proceed with implementing an OST, we would welcome further engagement on practical matters with implementation and the involvement of the financial services sector.