Subsidising the bumpkins

[Gromit]

//The government's controversial broadband tax has been given the green light by chancellor Alistair Darling in his pre-Budget report.

The £6 a year levy will be imposed on all households with a fixed line phone.
The money made will be put into a fund to ensure rural areas of the UK do not miss out on super-fast broadband services.//

http://news.bbc.co.uk...echnology/8403273.stm

If they want super-fast broadband, why can't they move to a town or city. Why do I have to fork out for them? Can we have a reciprocal 'Scenic view tax' and 'Fresh Air Tax' levied on country folk so I can have a park outside my front window?

Seriously, is this fair?

[Sandy-Wroe]

Life isn't fair.

[sammmo]

no of course its not fair.. just another way of sucking more out of the poor.. and this is a labour government or supposed to be.. rather thanintroducing backdoor taxes like this they should be upfront stop taxing anyone on less than £20,000 this would leave more money for the poor to spend which in turn would boost the economy..take lots of people off the dole and give people more incentive to actually work.. people above this should all be taxed at 50% for everything above £20,000 I bet this woud become a vote winner for the labour government if introduced rather than getting peoples backs up with back door taxes

[Coobeastie]

Prehaps those of us in the countryside could tax the city and town dwellers for the excellent transport connections which despite having a distinct lack of in the countryside we still pay for out of our petrol prices.

[tigerlily11]

I live just outside MIlton Keynes.supposedly one of the most up to date areas in the country and we get rubbish broadband and my son and daughter live in the city center and they both get knocked off line regularly every hour. It's not just the out lieing areas that have it bad. Broadband on the whole in the UK is terrible.
But I still think if the government wants the whole country on good broadband then they need to see that we get it without charging a tax for it.

[Panic Button]

The Labour Party has a department devoted to thinking up new taxes.

[VINNY100_2]

Perhaps you would like to contribute some money towards are sewage and water rates next time you come on holiday to the west country.We have to pay above the average to keep the beaches/water clean so you crockles can bath in clean sea water.

[Gromit]

VINNY100_2

We townies have had sewerage treatment works for over a hundred years while you were just flushing it into the sea. Welcome to the civilised world.

/In 2003 the tourist sector contributed £4,928 million to the West Counry's economy.//

The least we can expect for all that money is to not have to surf in your po0.

[craft1948]

I don't mind £6.00 a year out of my pension.......after all I'm getting a massive £2.37 a week pension increase next April.

[jake-the-peg]

Stop whinging and think yourself lucky you're getting a pension craft.

You may be the last generation that gets to retire

[Gromit]

ahmskunnirt

But it is your choice where you live, if you want a newsagents within 3 miles, move somewhere else where there is one.

I would not expect to pay a newspaper tax, so that a newsagent can be provided within walking distance to your house, so why should I pay a tax on broadband to deliver a service which is either uneconomical to provide, or a low priority for the provider?

[flip_flop]

It bloody well wouldn't be a vote winner with me sammmo. I already pay 40% on the majority of my salary, yet you want me to hand over half of the money I earn to the Government in Income Tax?

Add all the other taxes into the pot and the chances are, out of the 5 days I work a week probably only 1 day will be for me and my family.

Ridiculous idea.

[sp1814]

I absolutely don't mind paying £6 a year to enable better broadband connections to rural areas. I spend more than that at M&S each day for lunch!

And the benefits will be there for us townies when we visit (or choose to retire to) the countryside. Wider broadband coverage means that your iPhones will be able to connect to Wifi hotspots in the middle of Snowdonia. Very useful if you're using Google Maps to find your way back to your hotel.

[anotheoldgit]

/// Subsidising the Bumpkins ///

Where has all your 'liberal lefty', (giving your fellow man a helping hand out) thinking gone to,Gromit?

[Ankou]

£20k+ at 50% ?
given that many people might fall into the 40% bracket, add about 5% for council tax and you aint far off

[craft1948]

thanks birdie...........I wasn't aware I was whinging......I stated a fact and said I was happy to pay the £6.00 a year...:-)

[Ankou]

jake does strike me as a misanthrope sometimes with is posts. at least with other ab ers anyhow.
i wouldn’t think anything of it, maybe he just didn’t get any gold stars on the award chart at school.