Leaked Document Indicates £6 Broadband Tax would be Tripled
The government had announced a broadband tax in June wherein each household was supposed to pay a tax of £6 on telephone lines in order to fund the introduction of high speed internet in the
The tax that was to be levied on each household just once will now be levied according to the number of phone lines possessed by the household. A family with one telephone line and a separate line for broadband or fax will have to pay the tax separately for each line. Thus, a household owning all three would be paying £21.15 per year instead of the original £6 tax. This would affect more than 1.5 million families across the
The levy would be applicable to those customers having standard copper lines as well as those having high-speed fibre-optic connections.
The paper, which was drafted by Revenue & Customs, also indicates a bonus of £30 million annually, as the government also plans to charge VAT on this tax. The Times has termed this VAT levy as tax upon tax. A number of ISPs have said that the negative impact of the new levy would be enough for tens of thousands of subscribers to give up their broadband internet connection. Terming the tax as unfair and regressive, the Carphone Warehouse condemned it as a gross insult meted out to customers.
A government spokesperson, however, refused to comment on the leaked document and said that new technology broadband will bring several benefits to the business and social sector with its innovative applications, and that world-class digital infrastructure is important for jobs and growth of the
