Janice Small: LABOUR'S new "broadband tax" will hit more than THREE MILLION households which have no plans to go on the internet.
Chancellor Alistair Darling unveiled a scheme late last year for a £6-a-year tax on EVERY home with a fixed line phone - 23 million households.
The £175million raised will fund plans for super-fast broadband across Britain.
Janice said: “Millions of people - including cash-strapped pensioners in Batley and Spen - will be paying for a service they will never use”.
More than 3.2 million households are not online and have no interest in signing up for it. They also warn official figures show as many as 200,000 homes may not be able to afford the tax.
Janice added: "Millions who don't want the net will be forced to pay, and tens of thousands will no longer be able to afford the internet. Why tax us all when the answer is to restructure the telephony sector and pay for it with increased investment by the companies themselves?
"It isn't fair, isn't necessary and isn't acceptable."
The Treasury stated there will be no exemptions for ordinary households.
Janice is encouraging people to sign the No 10 Website if you want to make your voice heard. http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/taxbroadband/
Notes for editors:
While a Broadband Britain is an important objective, Conservatives will be voting against this measure in Parliament as we don’t believe that those on fixed incomes, or hard strapped families should be paying for this.
If elected to Government we will abolish Labour's broadband levy because we do not need these revenues to achieve a national roll-out of high speed broadband. Instead, we will unleash billions of pounds of private sector investment by forcing BT to open up its infrastructure to allow other operators to deliver super-fast broadband across the country. By using BT ducts, other companies will be able to save significant amounts of money to get fast high speed cabling into our homes and businesses - and less digging up of the roads.
Promoted by Maurice Cook, Spring Villa, 16a Church Lane, Brighouse, HD6 1AT
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