Labour drops broadband tax
A 50 pence-a-month tax on landlines to pay for superfast broadband has been dropped in order to push the finance bill through.
The Government has been forced to drop a proposed broadband tax, in order to ensure its Finance Bill is passed.
Time is running out to debate its many bills - including the controversial Digital Economy Bill - as Gordon Brown yesterday asked for parliament to be dissolved ahead of the general election.
Alongside a tax on cider, the Government dropped the 50 pence-per-month tax on landlines, which would have helped fund the roll out of superfast broadband, in order to gain enough support to let the Finance Bill pass through the wash-up phase and be approved quickly.
Critics, including the Conservative Party, want to leave the financial side of fibre to the free market, believing the private sector will step up to pay for it. If that doesn't work, the Tories have proposed taking funds from the BBC licence fee.
If Labour wins the election, the party is expected to reintroduce the tax.
Read on for the tech side to each party platform: Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat and the Pirate Party.
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