Tax Digital Platforms Instead of Its Users, Official Says

Developing countries should go after platforms for value-added tax on digital goods and services, a South African Revenue Service official recommended.

Lesley O’Connell, an executive at the South African Revenue Service, said platforms are a key part in ensuring future VAT revenues, and audit-constrained developing countries will find it easier to collect the tax from platforms instead of the suppliers using the platforms.

O’Connell’s comments were made Wednesday at a forum hosted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. More than 100 countries have already undergone VAT reforms directed at growing e-commerce activities and 30 more countries are ...