UK taxpayers want higher levies on big tech companies, survey shows

According to a poll released Monday by the Fair Tax Foundation, a majority of UK taxpayers favor higher taxes on global technology giants such as Meta (owner of Facebook), Google, and Amazon. The organization, which certifies businesses for responsible tax conduct, reported that 67% of respondents believe the government should raise the digital services tax on multinational tech groups to increase their overall tax contribution in the UK.

The UK's digital services tax, introduced in 2020, is a 2% levy on revenues from search engine, social media, or marketplace companies with UK sales exceeding £25 million or global sales over £500 million. Only a handful of tech firms pay the tax, which raised approximately £800 million for the exchequer in 2024-25.

Critics argue the levy leads to higher fees for users, and there has been strong opposition from the US, where President Donald Trump has threatened to impose a “big tariff” on the UK if it does not drop the tax on American technology companies.

The survey also found that three-quarters of the British public prefer to work for and shop with businesses that can prove they pay their fair share of tax. “This research demonstrates that the UK is still at its core a fair tax nation,” said Paul Monaghan, chief executive of the foundation. “The UK public care about many issues, but ‘tax justice’ is consistently at the top of their concerns when it comes to corporate conduct. They want to see government do much more to ensure that all businesses, both large and small, pay their fair share of tax.”

Each year, the foundation polls about 2,000 adults across Great Britain, with the sample based on census data from the Office for National Statistics. Results have remained consistent: support for the digital services tax was 69% in 2025 and 67% in 2026. Over the past decade of polling, “never less than 70% of Brits have wanted to work for a fair tax company,” the report added.