Online Sales Tax should be examined
Labour Party Senator Rebecca Moynihan has called for an online sales tax to be examined.
Senator Moynihan said:
“We know that there has been a massive surge in online spending since Covid-19 arrived on our shores. Many companies that Irish people are buying from don’t have a bricks and mortar presence in Ireland and are paying little to no tax on profits they make.
“We need to ensure that the State is not left with a complete tax deficit with the loss of rates and other tax revenues.
“It’s obvious that more people are moving to online shopping and while we need to support consumer spending, companies that are making high profits on the back of Irish sales such as Amazon need to start paying their fair share of tax.
“It is time for the Government in conjunction with the Revenue Commissioners to examine how an online sales tax and how it would work in an Irish context.
“Small, independent Irish retailers are doing their best to adapt to the ever changing retail space while still paying their fair share of tax, it is time for the big corporations with bigger resources to do the same.”