UK to scrap broadband tax

The new UK government has scrapped plans to introduce a 50p (€0.60) per month levy on phone lines. The former Labour government had planned to use the funds, of up to £175m a year, to pay for the rollout of superfast broadband.

Chancellor George Osborne said in his budget speech: “We need investment in our digital infrastructure. But the previous government’s landline duty is an archaic way of achieving this, hitting 30 million households who happen to have a fixed telephone line. I am happy to be able to abolish this new duty before it is even introduced.”

The new coalition government said it will instead support private broadband investment, including to rural areas, in part with surplus money from digital switchover funds.