Kiss goodbye to surfing OcUK while at work?

cleanbluesky · 3 May 2006 at 10:21

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,16849-2159286,00.html

Not immediately, but you have to wonder whether it may happen eventually.

alexakasloth · 3 May 2006 at 10:24

How on earth can they 'police' this if it comes into effect?

Spacky · 3 May 2006 at 10:31

WTFURLP45 FORM
--------------

STAFF NUMBER________
NAME_________
POSITION_____
DEPT_________
USERNAME_________

URL ACCESSED__________

TIME OF LOGIN___________
TIME LOGGED OUT________

REASON FOR USING URL____________
RELATED TO WORK Y/N

----------------------------------------------------

DD I ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ABOVE.

TAKE MY MONEY AND FIRE ME

See how that pans out in time another tea break suggestion I think.

Phantom · 3 May 2006 at 10:35

lol. just lol. need more income do they? "oh, oh, oh.. lets tax everything we possibly can!!11". losers.

Nathan · 3 May 2006 at 10:51

Have labour gone bonkers? Cant wait for them to be kicked out, this is a joke.

Vonhelmet · 3 May 2006 at 12:42

Nathan said:
Have labour gone bonkers? Cant wait for them to be kicked out, this is a joke.

Yes, yes they have. Who else is there who can do a better job? No one, it appears.

Dutch Guy · 3 May 2006 at 12:48

Our e-mails are already checked, not the content but the amount we send externally.

Last week my boss got a call from the IT manager why I sent soo much external e-mails and if I might have a business of my own and using the company network for that

zain · 3 May 2006 at 12:53

is nothing new really, anything that exists the government wants to tax. before this I heard about internet tax or something, sort of like the TV licence lmao, theres only so much the government can thief off us until they can thief no more.

The_KiD · 3 May 2006 at 12:57

See this: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17570351

The tax will only apply to equipment given on loan to staff which they use for "significant" personal use.

The question is, what is significant!

squiffy · 3 May 2006 at 12:59

Is this during office hours or after work? Or will tax still be charged using a company laptop at home browsing? :rolleyes:

Manlove is my forte · 3 May 2006 at 13:00

This does not just effect us. It effects our empoyers too. Will they be able to stomache such an increase in costs? £50 per head per year, is a lot of money for large firms. I can see a lot of businesses looking for office space on the continent if this tax comes into effect.

The_KiD said:
See this: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17570351

The tax will only apply to equipment given on loan to staff which they use for "significant" personal use.

The question is, what is significant!

I do not know of any company that gives away computers to its staff (this would also be a benift and taxable) thus they are all on loan to the staff until the staff member leave. This is especially true with Laptops.

squiffy said:
Is this during office hours or after work? Or will tax still be charged using a company laptop at home browsing?

This would definantly be taxable, how they would prove that you are using the laptop at home for personal use is another matter.

The_KiD · 3 May 2006 at 13:09

According to the Treasury yesterday, the finance bill, which will begin to be debated in the House of Commons today, "restores the normal benefit in kind tax charge that applies when the employer loans the employee an asset for personal use".

It added: "The employer makes the decision as to whether to loan the asset to the employee and then how to monitor its use. If an employee needs computer equipment in order to perform the duties of their employment, that equipment will not give rise to a tax charge providing any personal use made of that equipment is not significant. HMRC [Revenue & Customs] will take a practical view of what significant private use is.

From the financial Times.

It only applies if the employer is loaning you equipment for personal use.

I have worked at several companies where staff were allowed to borrow things such as laptops, digicams etc on weekends. AFAIK this is where the tax would apply.

Manlove is my forte · 3 May 2006 at 13:19

The_KiD said:
From the financial Times.

It only applies if the employer is loaning you equipment for personal use.

I have worked at several companies where staff were allowed to borrow things such as laptops, digicams etc on weekends. AFAIK this is where the tax would apply.

If you are asigned a laptop as your computer. If you are taking it home at night then the company is lending it to you, even if you do not turn it on. If you do turn it on and surf the web or chat on MSN, then you are being lent it for personal use on the internet.

I would find it hard to imagine that the HMRC will be anything but tight fisted or incompitant with regards to this legistlation. It will either be completely uninforcable, with every company figuring out its own tax dodge, or there will be a flat tax.

Edit: How do the HMRC plan to identify if a user has been making peronal use of the computers internet resources? Are they going to review each companies internet access logs, and each homeowners ISP logs looking for MAC addresses that match up?

Radiation · 3 May 2006 at 13:22

What's the reason for a tax like this?

The_KiD · 3 May 2006 at 13:26

Money is the reason!! and the only reason!!

They cannot police this in anyway though.

As I said in the other thread, I work for a car hire company, lets say an employee spends 2 hours, looking AVIS, Hertz and Europcar websites.

Are they researching those websites as they are our competitors or are they looking for prices to rent a car for their next holiday.

It is impossible to police!

Radiation · 3 May 2006 at 13:34

When i was much younger i always thought you worked to make a profit not to just survive and pay it all back into the system.

Kaed · 3 May 2006 at 13:40

Radiation said:
When i was much younger i always thought you worked to make a profit not to just survive and pay it all back into the system.

Aye the good ole days huh?

In my day, we didn't have shoes, in the winter we had to wrap barbed wire round our feet to get traction in the ice.

And we had to walk uphill to school BOTH WAYS!

Imho it is impossible to police, that's why they will turn it on its head and say
prove to us your NOT using it for personal use otherwise we will tax everyone the higher rate. Therefore shifting the blame and onus onto you.