Tax on texts

Apparently the government are thinking of taxing us per text.
Joke really the one thing without tax that everyone uses.Suprised they have only thought about it now though.

It's pretty pathetic really, seeing them scrounging for stuff like this.

(if you drive a car) - I'll tax the street;
(if you try to sit) - I'll tax your seat;
(if you get too cold) - I'll tax the heat;
(if you take a walk) - I'll tax your feet.

Taxman- The Beatles

Originally Posted by Wolfie

(if you drive a car) - I'll tax the street;
(if you try to sit) - I'll tax your seat;
(if you get too cold) - I'll tax the heat;
(if you take a walk) - I'll tax your feet.

Taxman- The Beatles

Or ryanair (if you need a ****)you must pay for the toilet.

I can't see why Texting should be exempt if we've gone down the route of taxing consumption. All that's been mentioned is a 1 cent tax. If it raised a 100 million quid (Mary Harneys sums) how bad?

Or to keep the rhyme going:

(if you take a bite) - I'll tax the meat
(if you see a friend) - I'll tax the greet

Originally Posted by Lionel Ritchie

I can't see why Texting should be exempt if we've gone down the route of taxing consumption. All that's been mentioned is a 1 cent tax. If it raised a 100 million quid (Mary Harneys sums) how bad?

As you very well know 1cent becomes 5cents which becomes 15 which becomes............
Still wondering how this would effect free texts for people already on networks who have them "for life".

Originally Posted by corkboy360

Still wondering how this would effect free texts for people already on networks who have them "for life".

The company pays I suppose?

Originally Posted by corkboy360

As you very well know 1cent becomes 5cents which becomes 15 which becomes............

You really think this will develop into 15 cent tax on texts? Don't be ridiculous.

Originally Posted by kingdom hoop

The company pays I suppose?

Ya if they do though they will probably put a cost charge on buying credit.

Originally Posted by sligoman

You really think this will develop into 15 cent tax on texts? Don't be ridiculous.

Aw right so it will stay at 1 cent forever
What price is a plastic bag these days ?

Originally Posted by corkboy360

Aw right so it will stay at 1 cent forever
What price is a plastic bag these days ?

Did I say it would? It would never develop into a 15cent tax though. Nobody would be using them then, that's not want the government want...unlike plastic bags.

Originally Posted by corkboy360

Ya if they do though they will probably put a cost charge on buying credit.

Or of course they could just put the price of texts up by a few cent for those who do pay and thereby absorb the tax that way. I wouldn't worry about the companies anyway.


Plastic bags are 22 cent I think? Started at 15 and up to about that. It's widely heralded as a great success internationally, and has been followed in loads of countries. Much like the smoking ban. And maybe the texting tax - though texting doesn't blight society to quite the same extent as smoking or plastic bags. Mind you if spelling continues to deteriorate there might be strong arguments to say it does!

Originally Posted by corkboy360

Ya if they do though they will probably put a cost charge on buying credit.
Aw right so it will stay at 1 cent forever
What price is a plastic bag these days ?

No it won't stay at one cent and why should it? Personally I'd start at 10 cent and see how it goes from there. Might get people to put it away for a few minutes a day.

I think plastic bags have increased in price what? Once? ...and the bag levy was an excellent idea.

Originally Posted by sligoman

Did I say it would? It would never develop into a 15cent tax though. Nobody would be using them then, that's not want the government want...unlike plastic bags.

The goverment know that people will always text especially the younger generation who text more anyway.

Originally Posted by kingdom hoop

. Mind you if spelling continues to deteriorate there might be strong arguments to say it does!

Why would the spelling deteriorate though because of tax?

Originally Posted by corkboy360

Apparently the government are thinking of taxing us per text.Suprised they have only thought about it now though.

21 months in government, and Green initiatives get as far as taxing people for having conversations. Wow, what a contribution!!!

Of course it will be implemented, even if there's a "childrens shoes" ring to all this. Unlike Jim Kemmy though, I doubt anyone will vote against their own party and bring down the coalition as a result of it.

1c tax per text seems like a pretty painless revenue-spinner to me, even if it typically aimed at the working class rather than those who can afford to contribute far more (maybe it should be 5c for bill-paying customers and 10c for business packages!)

Originally Posted by corkboy360

Why would the spelling deteriorate though because of tax?

Not through tax, the point is that textspeak has become a problem in this and other countries. A tax on texts might reduce the number of texts sent and therefore slow the spread of textspeak.

I'd have no problem with it being introduced at say 2 cents. That's maybe 200 million a year, and hopefully it will stop people from texting so much. I'd say I send 5 texts a week at most.

It's great having no friends.

until very recently, i was without a mobile for the last 3 years and it was the best thing i ever done. I hate them. I used to never answer calls and really only ever texted people. I hated being contactable all the time but was deffo addicted to texting and started getting this weird clicking in the knuckle of my thumb (which has since disappeared by the way)...

Work gave me a blackberry recently and i hate it and use it only occasionally for checking and sending emails when out of the office.

Did i mention how much i hate mobile phones?

Tax away!!

It could be sold as an education levy that is used (as Zoolander might say) to teach the kids who can't speak good.

Tax fresh air. Go on, I dare you.