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iPods to be taxed in the UK?

Added 01-10-2009

A new tax has been muted by Ofcom - the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries - which would be applied to the sale of the iPod. The suggestion came after an investigation into the funding of public service broadcasting. The revenue received through advertising for Channel 4 etc., has seen a rapid decrease in recent years.

To combat the decrease in advertising revenue, Ofcom have been proposing a tax on all the technologies which have adversely effected advertising revenue. Therefore, a Sky bskyb box, a ISP monthly payment, a CD, a DVD, a media player (like the iPod) would all have an added tax to supplement the like of C4 News.

The public reaction to yet another tax to fund public broadcasters has been unequivocally negative. A final decision is far from being concluded; Ofcom will be consulting the private and public sectors before giving their recommendations to the UK government.