An online marketplaces tax crackdown is being considered for the chancellor's first budget, according to the Times. Platforms including Amazon and eBay would be made responsible for collecting tax owed by retailers selling on their sites, with the changes reportedly able to raise up to £1bn for the Treasury.

How the online marketplaces tax crackdown would work

The reported mechanism would see marketplaces collect VAT at source for all retailers on their platform with annual turnover above £90,000. The move is said to target foreign retailers that have avoided paying VAT on their sales by exploiting weak rules and enforcement.

Relief pledged for high street shops

The Times reported that Healey was expected to announce the changes would fund cuts to business rates for high street shops. Pressure is growing on Andy Burnham and Healey to provide relief to struggling small businesses before the budget on 28 October. Before being elected in Makerfield, Burnham said he would raise the business rates threshold so 140,000 small high street retailers would not pay the tax.

Warnings around the budget

The Institute for Fiscal Studies warned this week that the budget risks being a "work of fiction" unless Healey sets out plans to cover £35bn in spending pressures. The IFS said higher inflation damage means the chancellor must either top up funds for current spending plans or impose deep real-terms cuts by the end of the decade.

The IMF, meanwhile, upgraded its UK GDP growth forecast for this year to 1.3%, up 0.3 percentage points from its July update, and cautioned that Healey should "stay the course" in repairing the public finances.

Silvana Tenreyro, the IMF's economic counsellor, made the remark about the UK's position.

Treasury response

A Treasury spokesperson declined to comment on rumour or speculation, saying that "decisions on tax are a matter for the chancellor to set out at fiscal events". The budget itself is due on 28 October.