Paymaster General confirms tax exemptions will not be reinstated

Chancellor Gordon Brown has refused to reconsider the decision to end the tax exemption that underpins the Home Computing Initiative (HCI) despite appeals in the Commons.

The Chancellor said in the 2006 Budget that ' the government will remove the current exemption for employer-provided equipment from 6 April 2006'.

Paymaster General Primarolo admitted the government has come under pressure from a number of backbench MPs but restated the position that made it clear no climb down is contemplated.

She said: 'With effect from April 6, a tax charge will arise on computer equipment made available by employers to their employees for private use.'

Primarolo said employees provided with equipment for business purposes where private use was 'not significant' would not be affected.

General Dawn Primarolo has confirmed that the exemptions will not be reinstated.

Tory spokesman Theresa Villiers accused the Chancellor of having 'just signed redundancy notes for 2,000 people working in the industry by suddenly shutting down the home computing initiative'.