Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) paid £15.7 million in UK tax last year, which is triple the amount the tech giant paid in 2016.
Despite profits only increasing by £4 million between 2016 and 2017, the tax paid jumped as tax affairs of tech giants is coming under increasing scrutiny.
Last week, Chancellor Philip Hammond threatened to introduce a new tax on tech companies, which will be called the “digital services tax”.
Hammond said during his speech in Birmingham: “Global internet giants must contribute to funding public services”.
“Just as, in late 19th century America, concerns about the near-monopoly of Standard Oil and the railroad cartels led to the introduction of the world’s first anti-monopolies legislation, so today, the expansion of the global tech giants and digital platforms, while of course bringing huge benefits to consumers, raises new questions about whether too much power is being concentrated in too few global technology businesses,” he said at the party conference.
“That is why I have asked President Obama’s former chief economist, Jason Furman, to lead an expert panel to review the UK’s competition regime, to ensure it is fit for the digital era. And it isn’t just competition policy that needs updating. We can tell them how we have led the debate on reforming the international tax system for the digital economy, insisting that the global internet giants must contribute fairly to funding our public services.”
“And let me be clear today: the best way to tax international companies is through international agreements, but the time for talking is coming to an end and the stalling has to stop. If we cannot reach agreement the UK will go it alone with a digital services tax of its own,” he added.
Following data privacy concerns, Facebook has also come under scrutiny in the UK after it was revealed last week that 50 million accounts had been compromised in a far-reaching cyber attack.
The group has made plans to further invest in the UK, announcing major new office space near Kings Cross.
