Posted by Admin on April 7, 2010 – 5:53 pm
The 50p per month broadband tax planned by the Government has been scrapped in a last minute rush to get key legislation through before Parliament is dissolved next week.
The other two taxes to be scrapped are tax releif on holiday homes and the 10% tax increase on cider.
The £6 per year tax which would have affected all households with a land line was expected to raise roughly £170million per year in a bid to bring high speed broadband to rural areas that companies such as BT and Virgin Media could not reach.
The Conservatives planned to scrap the tax if they win the General Election. They have plans to use some of the TV license fees set aside for digital switchover. The tax has been labelled unfair as the people paying the tax would not benefit from it.
The future of super fast broadband for all is now un-certain although if Labour win the election next month it may well be re-instated.
Posted by Admin on March 1, 2010 – 2:14 pm
A Committee of MP’s cosisting of 6 Labour MP’s , 3 Conservative and 2 Liberal Depmocrats all agree that the Governments proposed 50p ‘broadband tax’ is unfair. They consider the tax to be an ill-directed charge saying that most of the people who pay the tax will not benefit from it.
‘The charge will have a greater impact on the less well off who will be paying for an enhanced serivce which only a minority will enjoy’, said the report which was published on Tuesday.
The plan for the 50 p tax was announced last year by the Government in its Digital Economy Bill. The Government promised a universal minimum speed of 2Mbps for all parts of the UK by 2012 followed by a super speed broaband by 2017. It is intended that the this will all be paid for by the 50p tax which all landline customers will pay.
However this tax will only raise about £175 million a year and many in the industry say that the fund will not cover the amount needed to provide such a service to every home in the UK. BT have already estimated that the cost is more likely to be around £5 billion.
The MP’s on the Commitee believe that funding for the broadband should be done out of general taxation and not as a seperate levy on landlines.
The Conservative party has already said that they will scrap the scheme if they come into power at the next gereral election.
Posted by Admin on November 29, 2009 – 9:25 pm
According to a recent document reportedly seen by The Times the broadband tax of £6 per year which has been proposed by Gordon Brown to help subsidise the next generation of broadband speeds could almost tripe for some households.
This tax on landlines will be levied with VAT on each landline that a household uses. This means that nearly 2 million households with more than one landline could pay double or even triple the original amount. There has been no comment from the Government about this.
The plans are expected to be published next year. However we must wait for the General Election next year as the Conservatives say if they win they will scrap the plan.
Posted by Admin on September 23, 2009 – 7:00 pm
The Minister for Digital Britain Stephen Timms has told BBC News that the controversial broadband tax should be law before the next election. The £6 per year tax will apply to everyone with a fixed line telephone.
Mr Timms said’ We want to make high speed networks nationally available. The next generation fund will help that and we will legislate for it this side of a general election’. He confirmed the Governments commitment to the charge and to other recommendations made by Lord Carter in the recent Digital Britain report.
There had been some speculation that it would be shelved but that is apparently not so.
However John Whittingdale Tory MP said the 50 pence per month tax would be opposed by the Conservatives. He said ‘ I object to it on the basis that it is another tax and is aimed at people who are using old technology’
Mr Timms reportedly told BBC news ‘ It is full steam ahead’. He denied the report had been sidelined.
