Uber has suffered a significant legal setback in its bid to level the tax playing field, as the UK Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed its appeal seeking to impose a 20% value-added tax (VAT) requirement on rival taxi operators across England and Wales—excluding London. The ride-hailing giant had argued that private hire firms outside the capital should also be deemed to enter contracts with passengers, which would trigger VAT obligations similar to those Uber faces following a landmark 2021 ruling that classified its drivers as workers.
The latest ruling reverses a previous High Court decision in Uber’s favour, which applied to rides outside of London’s unique regulatory jurisdiction. The case was brought to the Supreme Court after private hire firms Delta Taxis and Veezu successfully overturned the High Court ruling at the Court of Appeal in July 2024. The Supreme Court unanimously dismissed Uber’s appeal, confirming that rival operators are not legally obligated to contract directly with passengers, a move that exempts them from charging VAT on full fare amounts.
While Uber acknowledged that the decision has no effect on its current VAT practices, a spokesperson noted that it “confirms that different contractual protections apply” across the UK, creating disparities between London and other regions. Meanwhile, rival operators welcomed the ruling as a major win. Delta Taxis’ legal representative, Layla Barke Jones, said the verdict had “averted a crisis” for many local firms, while Veezu’s chief legal officer, Nia Cooper, described it as “a triumph for the UK private hire sector” that prevented fare hikes for consumers.
In a related development, Estonian ride-hailing platform Bolt also secured a legal victory earlier this year, successfully arguing that it only needs to pay VAT on its margin rather than the total trip cost. However, HMRC has been granted permission to challenge that outcome at the Court of Appeal. Bolt’s UK senior general manager, Kimberly Hurd, lauded the Uber ruling but emphasised the need for a consistent national regulatory framework to eliminate discrepancies in how ride-hailing services are taxed and governed across different UK jurisdictions.