During the pandemic, E-Commerce has been a lifeline for many businesses and indeed new ventures have launched.  However, key challenges with distribution, taxation and import and exports are still prevalent, if not crippling in many parts of the world, with a heavy impact on sales in some countries as a result.  The United Kingdom, a world leader in e-commerce has been heavily impacted by Brexit, and taxation in and with Europe has become unnecessarily complex, particularly with digital products.  Tax rulings for each territory dependent on whether the sale is to a business or a consumer, have also become unworkable for many businesses without the ability and desire to register for VAT in every country sold to, or the investment for e-commerce systems that auto-calculate the relevant sales tax.  These over complex rulings designed to add fairness with taxation exclude many SMEs.  In 2022 and beyond, if governments do not address their sales taxation rules and trade agreements effectively, businesses who wish to sell further than domestically, will need to consider the viability of running an e-commerce or Internet business in their own country. 2022 will see a further flurry of exporting businesses moving to alternative countries around the world.

Extract: Digital World Predictions 2022

About the Author

Deborah Collier is a strategic and futurist leader in business. She is founder and President of international business Digital Skills Authority and has several years experience with digital business and international business strategy. During her career she has advised and taught leaders and teams from Fortune 500 companies and other organisations around the globe.