Brown mulls PC U-turn

The government looks set to change its mind on tax-exempt home computers

The government looks set for a partial change of course over its much-derided decision to scrap tax-exempt status for staff PCs bought via the Home Computing Initiative (HCI).

The Budget announcement caused a furore, as the tax-relief scheme had been lauded by groups including employers’ organisation the CBI and union body the TUC.

In response to the outcry, the Treasury last week said it was reviewing ways to address its original aim of getting PCs into the hands of those who most need to learn basic IT skills.

According to a report in the Financial Times, chancellor Gordon Brown telephoned CBI director general Digby Jones to assure him that the Treasury was looking again at its plans.

In an interview with IT Week, a Treasury spokesman confirmed that the original scheme had been scrapped because it was being abused and that a replacement for the HCI more targeted at the “elderly and very poor” is under discussion. However, there is “no concrete timetable” for the putative scheme.

“We are looking at how we can best use the resources of HCI but avoid the abuses we were witnessing of people buying third home computers or iPods,” the spokesman commented.

Meanwhile, the Conservative Party has set up an online petition to save the HCI. “In the last two days I have spoken to the CBI, the TUC and a number of employers,” said shadow chancellor George Osborne. “All agree that the chancellor is making a huge mistake.”