- The UK Tax Tribunal has ruled that ride-hailing firm Bolt will only need to pay VAT on the ‘marginal’ value taken by the operator, rather than the entire cost of the fare.
- Bolt appealed against the UK’s tax authority, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), regarding the application of the Tour Operator Margin Scheme (TOMS) to its operations.
- The ruling states that Bolt’s services fall within the scope of TOMS, which requires companies to apply VAT only on the margin of a trip.
- This ruling could have implications for the ride-hailing industry as a whole, and may open the door for other companies to challenge the VAT payment structure.
- Uber’s similar litigation on TOMS against HMRC is set to proceed in the first half of 2024.
- The Tribunal Judge noted that passenger transport services are commonly provided by tour operators or travel agents, supporting the view that ride-hailing services should fall under TOMS.
Source: taxi-point.co.uk
Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.
