Councils and E-Commerce: The why, what and how of a Local E-Commerce Levy

This report is intended to inform and promote the debate on a Local E-Commerce Levy and does not represent LGA policy.


E-commerce has been growing at a significantly faster rate than all retail. Over the decade from 2008 online sales grew by 326 per cent whilst store sales grew by only 13 per cent. As a proportion of all retailing, money spent online has increased from an average of 4.9 per cent in 2008 to an average of 16.3 per cent in 2017.

The Local Government Association (LGA) has therefore asked WPI Economics to consider:

• the case for a Local E-Commerce Levy as part of a future tax system

• what a Local E-Commerce Levy would look like

• how a Local E-Commerce Levy could be implemented.