Labour MPs blast ‘morally wrong’ tax cut for Musk and Bezos while benefits are slashed

Labour MPs blast ‘morally wrong’ tax cut for Musk and Bezos while benefits are slashed



Posted by theipaper

12 comments

  1. Labour MPs have criticised proposals to cut the tax paid by American tech billionaires as a price to secure a [tariff](https://inews.co.uk/topic/tariffs?srsltid=AfmBOoptaZRcDDgUd1XLzFugJOpfPeo8bgl55-ZDKhrzmf6WXOa27Izk&ico=in-line_link)-busting deal with [Donald Trump](https://inews.co.uk/topic/donald-trump?srsltid=AfmBOopMLanQtAhBnCEGAoh3j9CkzDCy-h6D35I0ghxAiq0OUku7t6I7&ico=in-line_link).

    MPs on the left of the party said it would be “morally wrong” to reduce the Digital Services Tax paid by companies such as Amazon and X, while the Government are cutting benefits for vulnerable people.

    Under the DST, tech giants which generate more than £500m in worldwide revenues and more than £25m from UK users have their British revenues taxed at 2 per cent.

    Google, eBay and Apple have publicly acknowledged paying the tax, as has [Jeff Bezos](https://inews.co.uk/topic/jeff-bezos?srsltid=AfmBOoq_rH6oy5UCb8VwEYG_fQwZjuJjYj_s0JcfZaIddgmv-6syuzJO&ico=in-line_link)’s Amazon. [Elon Musk](https://inews.co.uk/topic/elon-musk?srsltid=AfmBOop_EWDBTk69q20a3GEEkd_iCz9RXiumBzE8kxPpQXgRlcPvDUSb&ico=in-line_link)’s X is also believed to qualify for the levy.

    However, the UK Government is considering reducing the levy for the US tech giants as a quid pro quo for Trump lowering his tariffs on British goods.

    Appearing before the Commons Liaison Committee on Tuesday, [Sir Keir Starmer](https://inews.co.uk/topic/keir-starmer?srsltid=AfmBOorV0V1tbRBVTtVg5gRQKcvTxoG4wkhIqGr2M8aZRTzEd0ZYR6tv&ico=in-line_link) said [the DST is on the table in trade talks with the US](https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/tax-cut-billionaires-starmer-musk-bezos-trade-3630807?ico=in-line_link), along with online safety rules.

    “In relation to trade talks, there are questions about the appropriate way to tax digital services,” he said. “There are questions about how technology impacts with free speech.”

    But the proposal has sparked anger among Labour MPs who argue it is unacceptable to give tech giants a tax cut while reducing benefits as part of the Government’s welfare reforms.

    Jon Trickett, the Labour MP for Normanton and Hemsworth, told *The i Paper*: “There should be no question of Britain giving consideration to making tax concessions to tech billionaires when they are proposing to take billions of pounds from welfare benefit beneficiaries.

    “We were told the level of government debt is too high to help the poorest so how can we afford a giveaway to these corporate giants?”

    Brian Leishman, the Labour MP for Alloa and Grangemouth, said: “We cannot let US tech companies off the hook to appease the likes of President Trump and Elon Musk while allowing the most vulnerable in our society to suffer due to welfare cuts.

    “Giving some of the richest men and firms in the world a tax break while disabled people are seeing their lifelines cut is morally wrong and does not align with the true values of the Labour Party.

    “Equally, the implementation of the Online Safety Act must be protected so that people, in particular children, are kept safe in the digital space.”

    He added that the DST is “an important first form of global tax co-operation which ensures that the value tech giants derive from their engagement with the UK user base is taxed accordingly”.

  2. I mean I get it though. like I want to be angry about it but it also makes sense to try and navigate toddlers being in power and our economy being at risk.

  3. If the people of the uk cared about Amazon’s tax avoidance, or union busting, or poor treatment of staff, they’d shop elsewhere.

    They don’t though, which says something about us all.

  4. Blast?

    We should be organising & mobilising on every street corner but the apathy is so strong that we’re all just obediently waiting for it to blow over.

  6. You can’t feed your kids with morals. If it’s in our nation’s economic interests, as determined by experts in the Treasury, then I am all for it.

  7. Trouble is money talks. Like all governments they always work for the benefit of the rich

  8. They’re stupid. Reeves are doing this as they’re now realising that the billionaires that are leaving you the people that pay 80% of the tax well that tax has to be recouped somewhere. And these are tax incentives to encourage investment and job creation which Reeves realises is needed to counter the huge jobs losses now expected from her stupid tax rises and SME cannot afford. They’ll expect higher tax reciepts from their companies if they invest more. No sure that’ll make up for the fall in tax revenue though.

    All predictable and now their only option is this. They haven’t got the first clue.

  9. Damn, that photo. Musk looks like a cross between a brick and a frog.

  10. People need to remember things like this the next time they think about accusing “the rich” of “not paying enough tax”.

    They pay the amount of tax that has been negotiated by the government of the day. Blame the government for these company’s not paying enough.

  11. So they’ve resigned the whip and are standing as independents, right?

    Of course not, they’re complicit in this. It’s their party and their government.

  12. Don’t give Labour credit for opposing it, they’re the ones proposing it.

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