Budget adds tax for home PCs and second phones

Budget adds tax for home PCs and second phones


Tax charges could lie in wait for staff given home PCs and mobile email devices

The Treasury announced plans to tax some home PCs and mobile phones in today’s Budget.

Employees who are granted PCs for use at home will see them taxed as a benefit in kind, according to a spokesman for KPMG. Staff with a second mobile phone device, including BlackBerry communicators, could also be hit, according to Budget notes spotted by KPMG.

The Finance Act due in the next few weeks will provide clarification of terms.

Elsewhere, Gordon Brown’s budget received a mixed welcome from IT professionals with praise for more tax credits and criticism over a lack of incentives for teleworking.

Several watchers welcomed the chancellor’s plans to extend the higher rate for research and development tax credits to companies with up to 500 staff. Currently the upper limit is 250.

Sun Microsystems was disappointed in its efforts to persuade the Chancellor to take an eco-friendly approach that would offer perks for firms that encourage teleworking.