Boris Johnson has pledged to implement an 'Amazon tax' in the UK, forcing US tech giants to pay more tax on their digital sales, despite opposition from Donald Trump.

The British prime minister announced yesterday that he would push ahead with a digital sales tax ahead of today’s Nato summit.

Under the proposed tax, set to be implemented in April 2020 if the Conservatives win next week’s election, the likes of Amazon, Google and Facebook would be forced to pay two per cent tax on all domestic digital revenues.

The announcement came shortly after the US president threatened to impose 100 per cent tariffs on $2.4 billion of French goods to punish the country for implementing a similar tax, charging tech companies three per cent on domestic digital revenues.

Johnson’s move to side with French president Emmanuel Macron potentially risks drawing similar threats from Trump.

“On the digital services tax, I do think we need to look at the operation of the big digital companies and the huge revenues they have in this country and the amount of tax that they pay,” Johnson told the BBC. “We need to sort that out - they need to make a fairer contribution.”

This move follows growing trade tensions between Washington and the EU, as member states begin to impose new levies on big tech companies, which Trump has claimed unfairly discriminate against US companies.

Last week Amazon was criticised by Jeremy Corbyn, with the Labour leader telling chief executive Jeff Bezos to “just pay your taxes”. Earlier this year it was revealed that Amazon had paid a total of £61.7 million in corporation tax over the past 20 years, despite making a total UK turnover of around £7 billion.

Amazon has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, stating that the amount of tax it pays is what is legally required.

Miles Dean, head of international tax at Andersen Tax UK, commented: "It is a great shame that Johnson seems to be capitulating the braying few who demand more tax for the sake of it - stating that the tech companies must pay their fair share simply isn’t good enough.

"Johnson’s comments are ill timed and ill thought through, do the public really resent the tech companies that much that he and his advisers think it necessary to launch yet another attack and threaten more bad law?"

He suggested that there is no international consensus on how to treat tech companies and, until there is, "we won’t disrupt the system and create more barriers, but will openly thank these corporates for the massive economic contribution they do make".

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