Uber referred to HMRC over tax affairs
Taxi supply app faces questions over its tax position and corporate structure
TAXI SERVICE UBER has been referred to HM Revenue & Customs by London’s transport regulator Transport for London (TfL).
It follows a complaint made to the city’s mayor Boris Johns by Labour MP and Public Accounts Committee chairwoman Margaret Hodge, in which she raised concerns about the company’s tax structure.
In that letter, she warned Uber could be “opting out of the UK tax regime”.
Uber’s tax structure requires customers to use its app operated by a Dutch entity, in turn seeing it pay Dutch corporation tax instead of the UK levy.
TfL’s COO for surface transport Garrett Emmerson said the body is “fully satisfied that Uber is operating lawfully”.
He said: “TfL’s role is to licence and regulate the taxi and private hire industry in London. We do not have any powers in relation to an operator’s corporate structure and how or where they pay tax.”
A spokesperson for Uber said: “Uber complies with all applicable tax laws, and pays taxes in all the jurisdictions it operates in.
“In the UK this includes corporation tax, income tax, payroll tax, sales and use tax, and VAT.
“Uber’s system is also completely cashless, bringing transparency and traceability to an industry that is typically almost entirely cash-based, and where there are often concerns of under-reporting for tax purposes.”