UK Customs and Excise calls for Net tax delay

Following the US government's moratorium on Internet taxation, the UK's Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise departments have put out a joint white paper outlining their proposals for taxing ecommerce.

The paper says tax should not be allowed to stifle the development of electronic trade and concludes that ecommerce should not be subject to special taxes.

A spokesman for Customs and Excise said: "There is no point in putting new taxes in place - the vast majority of Internet transactions are covered by existing legislation."
However he conceded that in areas - like collection of VAT from international transactions - more staff may be needed. He added that the agencies were still looking at certain other areas, such as betting.

The paper calls for international cooperation and neutrality, and emphasises that electronic commerce and traditional retail should be treated in the same way.