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“App tax” is a political shorthand, not a government tax: it describes app-store commissions and rules that can limit how developers sell to users or direct them to outside payment options. The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) describes Apple and Google as an effective duopoly over mobile platforms, covering around 90–100% of UK mobile devices, and says they charge commissions of up to 30% on some in-app purchases. Neither figure means every phone or purchase is subject to the same terms.
What does “app tax” mean?
In a 4 October 2026 Guardian opinion article, Labour MP Chi Onwurah uses “app tax” to describe costs and restrictions associated with app-store distribution and payments. It is not a formal tax collected by the UK government. Her argument is that platform rules can raise developers’ costs and limit their ability to offer users other ways to pay.
The CMA’s competition framing gives context to that argument. It has called Apple and Google an effective duopoly over UK mobile platforms and estimated that around 90–100% of UK mobile devices run on one of their platforms. The regulator has also cited commissions of up to 30% on some in-app purchases. “Up to” and “some” matter: the rate and which transactions are covered depend on the applicable terms.
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Distribution and payment choices
Onwurah argues that developers have constrained options for distributing apps and that restrictions on steering can prevent them from directing users to cheaper external payment options. Steering means communicating an alternative way to pay—such as through a website—rather than relying solely on an in-app purchase flow. The CMA’s work on proposed steering requirements reflects regulatory scrutiny of these practices; it does not establish that every developer faces identical restrictions or fees.
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Potential business effects
Onwurah says commissions and steering limits can affect developers’ hiring, investment and ability to grow in the UK. These are her claims about the effects of platform terms, not quantified outcomes established by the CMA figures above. The practical impact would depend on a developer’s business model, the transactions involved and the terms that apply.
Consumer-cost estimates
Onwurah cites an estimate of approximately £700 million a year in payments by British consumers to Apple and Google, and an illustrative £55 annually for a household with four smartphone users. Those figures are attributed to Coalition for App Fairness research as reported by the Daily Mail; the underlying study and its methodology are not set out in her article. They should be read as reported estimates, not as official CMA statistics or a verified bill paid by each household.
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What has the CMA done, and what remains separate?
The UK digital-markets regime
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 created the digital-markets regime that Onwurah urges the CMA to use. On 22 October 2025, the CMA designated Apple and Google as having strategic market status (SMS) in their respective mobile platforms. The designations cover mobile operating systems, native app distribution and mobile browsers or browser engines.
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Steering proposals and consultation
In 2026, the CMA consulted on proposed steering conduct requirements for Apple and Google. Its case pages show that consultation responses were published on 14 August 2026. That establishes a consultation and responses, not a final effective steering rule. The position can change as the CMA completes its process, so readers should distinguish a proposal from a decision in force.
The CMA also records commitments concerning aspects of platform processes alongside its separate steering work. Onwurah characterizes reliance on voluntary commitments as inadequate and calls for binding action; that is her policy assessment. Whether a binding requirement is preferable involves questions about external-payment fees and conditions, consumer choice and price transparency, privacy, security, fraud safeguards, enforcement timing and review.
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What is Onwurah asking the UK to do?
Onwurah’s case is that the CMA should use the powers created by the 2024 Act and that government should support it. She presents stronger action as compatible with technology and economic growth, while emphasizing consumer choice and fairness for developers. Her article is an opinion argument for that approach, not an independent finding that every app-store transaction is unfair or that every proposed intervention would have the same effects.
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For readers, the key distinction is between the underlying competition concern and the remedy: the CMA’s market and commission figures describe the regulator’s framing, while any new steering obligation depends on the outcome of a separate formal process.
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