John Healey, the UK Chancellor, is reportedly preparing to announce a tax crackdown on online marketplaces including Amazon and eBay in his first budget, according to The Guardian. The move would make these platforms responsible for collecting tax owed by all retailers selling on their sites.
The Guardian reports the measure could raise up to £1bn additional revenue for the Treasury. The exact details of how the tax collection responsibility would work remain unclear from the available material.
The proposal targets a known compliance gap. Online marketplaces host third-party sellers from across the UK and internationally. Currently, individual sellers bear responsibility for reporting and paying their own tax obligations. The new approach would shift that burden to the platforms themselves, making them liable for unpaid tax from vendors using their services.
Amazon and eBay are the largest online marketplaces operating in the UK market. Both platforms connect millions of small businesses and individual traders to British consumers. The proposal would require them to act as tax collectors for their seller networks.
No official announcement has been made. The Guardian bases its report on claims about what Healey "is said to be preparing." The specific legislative mechanism, enforcement approach, and timeline for implementation have not been detailed in the available source material.
The government has faced sustained pressure to address tax compliance among online sellers. Small businesses selling through these platforms have sometimes underreported income or failed to account for VAT obligations. The proposal would attempt to resolve this by making marketplaces gatekeepers for tax compliance across their entire seller base.