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E-commerce: Concern for rural brokers as Broadband Tax plans ditched

Rural broker business could suffer after the Government scrapped Broadband Tax plans designed to enable high-speed internet to be rolled out across the country.

The 50p-a-month tax, which would have been applied to all households with a landline telephone, formed a major part of Labour's strategy to ensure everyone could access super-fast broadband by 2012. However, it was dropped from the Finance Bill shortly before Parliament was dissolved.

Mark Seemann, product strategy and development director at Outsourcery, said: "It is simply not good enough to push the burden back on to businesses. In effect, it causes a rural-urban digital divide, which is

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End of Year Review 2025: Alps’ Michelle O’Reilly

Michelle O’Reilly, managing director at Alps, expresses disappointment that whilst some parts of the market have talked a good game on innovation and customer care, they have not followed through; and predicts 2026 could be the year the Financial Conduct Authority steps in with tougher measures on home insurance claim declinatures.

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