Under existing rules, UK sites were already required to provide data to tax authorities, but under the new OECD agreement, HMRC will require US web sellers to provide the same level of detail. can now be requested.
Hundreds of thousands of sellers could end up paying taxes for the first time. After all, it’s estimated that 12% of our girlfriends have some kind of side hustle, and it costs a lot of money.
No one would blame HMRC for that. This is meant to enforce the rules, and it is clearly wrong for people who earn thousands of pounds a year from trading concert tickets or selling their ‘favorite’ clothes online to avoid paying tax on that income. ing.
The IRS is no doubt hoping that simply advertising the ability to share data with major web platforms will entice more people to declare their income as soon as possible. With little effort, it could generate tens of millions of dollars in extra revenue and plug a £100bn hole in government finances.
But here’s the problem. We need the hustle economy more than we think.
There are two reasons for this. First, it helps people earn a little extra cash to pay record levels of taxes and at a time when the cost of living is soaring.
Household budgets are under pressure, fixed-rate mortgage contracts are ending, the prices of many essential goods are still rising, and real wages are under more pressure than they have been in a generation or two, with no additional taxes to be paid. Many people are going to have a really hard time paying their bills this year.
Indeed, it is better to earn a little extra money in some side hustle and “hurry” your way out of difficulties than to fall behind on mortgage repayments or further reduce daily expenses. Sho.
If we scare them away from doing so, the overall economy will deteriorate further.