The UK has rebuffed US lobbying against a tech tax on Silicon Valley giants, as the two countries launch a partnership on AI and other digital industries.

A 2 per cent digital services tax is applied by the Treasury to the revenue of the biggest online firms – including Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook and Elon Musk’s X – which raises around £800m a year.

The White House and US Congress have been pushing for the levy to be repealed, arguing that American companies are disproportionately affected. But ministers have held firm and insisted the tax is fair, The i Paper understands. New Feature

In Short

Quick Stories. Same trusted journalism.

The refusal comes as large American firms including Microsoft, Google, OpenAI and Nvidia have pledged to invest tens of billions of pounds in Britain

See Full Page