Broadband tax could be tripled for some households

A leaked document has indicated that the broadband tax that had been proposed by the Labour government could actually be tripled for some households.

The broadband tax that has been proposed by the Labour government has caused a great deal of controversy and has been met with fierce opposition from the opposition parties. The plan was to charge fifty pence per month or six pounds a year per household for households with landlines.

However, according to recent reports information has been leaked that suggests that the broadband tax could now be applied per line rather than per household, and this could mean that some households will see this tax triple, and could end up paying eighteen pounds per year instead of six pounds.

The alleged leaked documents were reported by the national newspaper The Times, and suggest that the tax will be applied to every line in the building rather than just to every building with a landline. The money from this tax is meant to go towards building and rolling out next generation broadband across the UK.

Furthermore, in addition to some households and businesses having to pay tax on multiple lines rather than on just one line, there are also indications that the government will be adding VAT onto the tax, which means that consumers and businesses will be paying even more. Around 1.7 million homes in the UK are thought to have more than one phone line, and some have additional lines such as fax lines. Some could even end up paying over twenty pounds a year in this tax according to industry officials.

Source – NMA