Stephen Timms announced that broadband tax will be made law
before the next election at a British Computer Society debate
today.
The 50p per month tax will fund high-speed broadband networks
and will apply to everyone with a fixed telephone line.
He expects the tax to raise between £150m and £175m per year.
The minister for
Digital Britain was speaking at a BCS debate today on the role
of the IT industry in bringing the UK economy out of recession.
Timms also said that investment in IT would not be cut, despite
the tight fiscal times ahead of the government.
He said, "We have got to half the deficit over the next four
years. Public spending has got to be constrained, but there will
still be spending. It will need to be tightly targeted on areas
like this."
Other panellists at the debate, which was moderated by John
Humphrys, agreed business would have to play a role in investment
for universal broadband.
David Clarke, chief executive of the BCS, said, "The business
applications that will be available from this are immense, but it
is a huge gamble, and the only way it is going to happen is if
businesses see there is a return on investment."