The British House Of Commons is debating the idea of taxing individuals who use computers at work for their own personal use. Think tax on company cars and you see the angle - if you use the computer for your personal use, then it will be a form of pay!! The Times reports:
Under the rules that replace the scheme, office computers used in part for non-business purposes are treated as a benefit in kind, meaning that employees will have to pay income tax on them, and employers will have to pay national insurance contributions for them as well. On a computer bought for £2,000, an employee paying higher-rate tax would face a £160 bill each year and an employer would have to pay an extra £51.20.
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After Britain has worked hard to become one of the most online nations in the world, the economic whizkids in parliament come up with the great idea to stifle, by any means possible, the future economic growth of the country.
Not only is this idea economically insane, it’s also completely impractical. If as a planner I read PSFK from work does that constitute leisure or work? It’s relevant to my industry but no one has told me to do it for work.
If I use web mail to speak to a potential new business lead does that constitute leisure or work?
Backward, ill thought out and greedy.
May 1st, 2006 at 4:24 pm