Broadband tax will come into play before next election

Government officials have now confirmed that the proposed six pound broadband tax that has been causing controversy will now come into play before the next election.

Officials from the government have recently announced that plans to introduce a broadband tax for six pounds a year will now come into play before the next general election, despite reports that the government was in two minds with regards to whether or not to bring in the new tax, which is designed to help fund its Digital Britain programme.

Opposition parties have slated the broadband tax, but despite this the Labour government has decided that it will be levying these charges. This year’s finance bill will contain a charge of fifty pence a month on all UK phone lines, which will add up to the six pounds a year according to the Treasury Minister Stephen Timms.

He said that he aimed for this legislation to be brought in before the next general election. It is thought that up to one hundred and seventy five million pounds a year could be raised as a result of these charges being levied on phone lines. However, the plans have received a cool response from members of the Conservative Party.

The government believes that the charges are a vital part of bringing in the new broadband infrastructure that would allow them to put into place their universal broadband plans, which involve providing the whole country with broadband speeds of at least 2Mbps. The next general election is to be called by next summer at the latest, and the new broadband tax charges are likely to be included in the finance bill that will be released in the autumn of this year.

Source – Guardian