Trump Urged to Prevail on UK to Drop Its Digital Services Tax

More than 20 House Republicans urged President Donald Trump to secure a commitment from the UK to drop its tax on tech companies during his trip to the country.

Trump should push the UK to revoke its digital services tax “as soon as possible,” or follow through with imposing additional tariffs if the country doesn’t agree, the lawmakers, led by Rep. Ron Estes (R-Kan.) and Ways and Means Tax Subcommittee Chair Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), said in a letter to the president Monday.

During his visit, Trump is expected to announce $10 billion in economic deals with the UK, one of which is expected to be related to technology investment.

Digital services taxes typically aim to levy revenue from large companies’ targeted advertising, personal data sales, and other services to users in a country. Republicans argue the tax is discriminatory against US-headquartered tech companies like Amazon Inc., Meta Platforms Inc., and Apple Inc. Trump has repeatedly threatened to impose tariffs on countries that use the levy.

The threat has led countries such as Canada and India to drop their digital taxes. The UK has reiterated its intention to keep the tax until a global digital taxation agreement is forged. Talks on the subject remain stalled. But the lawmakers said allowing the UK’s 2% DST to stand would set a “dangerous precedent” for other countries to keep taxing American tech companies and compel others like Slovakia and Poland to move forward with fresh proposals.

If the UK were to rebuff the request, the lawmakers said the US Trade Representative should reopen an investigation that could potentially give Trump the ability to impose additional tariffs.