UK to tax BlackBerry users? – updated

Posted
by
Steve St. Pierre
on October 13, 2006, at 8:04 AM
in News
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Comments: 4 responses
4 Comments

It could happen. Really. News from MegaStar has the Chancellor of the Exchequer (what’s a guy got to do for that title?) saying that employees could be charged taxes for, get this, using their BlackBerrys too much. Yes, you heard right. This is one way to get tackle that CrackBerry problem, I suppose.

“When the Blackberry was just used as a phone, it was exempt from the new guidelines. The increasing sophistication of the device means that people who send too many emails from their Blackberry may face a tax bill of hundreds of pounds.”

That’ll learn you from being that jerk playing email tag on a busy subway telling your wife to get the “extra cheesy” cheetos. You’ll pay for that extra cheese – one way or another.

Ok, so maybe you won’t. Breaking news! Apparently they’re “poo-poo’ing” the tax.

Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) today dismissed claims in The Sun and The Times that changes to employee benefit rules mean BlackBerries are likely to be taxed as a personal benefit.

A spokesman for HMRC was blunt: “It’s garbage.”

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  • Wibbly

    I think this is a missinterpretation of a rule which means company provided mobile phones are a taxable benefit…

    As some people have a Blackberry and an ADDITIONAL mobile phone they use for voice, the question is if you then get taxed for having TWO mobile phones, as we all know the BB is a phone too (even if people with a separate mobile phone don’t use it as a phone).

  • Wibbly

    I think this is a missinterpretation of a rule which means company provided mobile phones are a taxable benefit…

    As some people have a Blackberry and an ADDITIONAL mobile phone they use for voice, the question is if you then get taxed for having TWO mobile phones, as we all know the BB is a phone too (even if people with a separate mobile phone don’t use it as a phone).

  • http://www.itpro.co.uk/blogs/user-blogs/neil-thompson/ Neil Thompson

    The British Prime Minster selects the Chancellor of the Exchequer from any elected member of his own party.

    As for taxing phones the rule used to be that you were taxed on your personal use of the phone but this proved too complicted and so it was scrapped. Similarly it would never work with email either as you would have to work out accurately what was a work and what was a personal email.

  • http://www.itpro.co.uk/blogs/user-blogs/neil-thompson/ Neil Thompson

    The British Prime Minster selects the Chancellor of the Exchequer from any elected member of his own party.

    As for taxing phones the rule used to be that you were taxed on your personal use of the phone but this proved too complicted and so it was scrapped. Similarly it would never work with email either as you would have to work out accurately what was a work and what was a personal email.