Britain may be dead set on expanding broadband availability, but the country's government decided that it won't levy a tax on landline phone connections to fund new build-outs. The government's decision was revealed as the House of Commons prepares to examine the Digital Economy Bill and the government looks to push the legislation through before the current parliament is dissolved.
Under the proposed plan, the British government wanted to raise about $277.3 million a year from a tax on any home that has a wireline phone connection for high speed broadband service networks. A major obstacle existed for the Labour Party's tax proposal. The Conservative Party said if it won the upcoming election it would get rid of the tax. However, if the Labour Party wins the General Election it will reinstate the tax.
For more:
- Telecompaper has this article
Related articles:
Britain puts broadband tax on table
U.K. government allocates $1.6 billion for broadband