Google to pass digital services tax costs onto advertisers

Google has reportedly told British advertisers that they will have to cover the costs for the U.K.’s digital services tax that came into effect in April. From November 1, Google will start charging advertisers an additional 2% in fees to cover the costs.

The new tax, which Google has decided to pass onto customers, charges 2% on revenues generated in the U.K. The tax is levied against revenue specifically from search engines, social media platforms, and online market places – meaning that Google, Twitter, Facebook, and Amazon are all targets.

Advertisers in the UK’s aren’t the only ones affected by the change, in a statement, Google said:

“The Regulatory Operating Costs are being added due to significant increases in the complexity and cost of complying with regulations in Turkey. In Austria and the United Kingdom, the digital services tax (DST) fee is driven by the new digital services tax in these countries.”

The new tax looks to bring in up to £500 million each year but tech firms are very keen not to pay out of their profits. Aside from Google, Amazon has also started passing on the costs of the digital services tax to sellers in the U.K. from today.