Backbytes: Mad Hungarian plan to tax every gigabyte of data

'Who needs economic growth?', ask Hungarian politicians, as they look to tax people's data downloads

Hungary, one of a handful of countries around the world that's slowly going bonkers, is proposing to introduce a big fat tax on broadband, charging every ISPs for every gigabyte of data their users download.

And when we say "big fat tax", we mean it: arguably the most insane government in the whole of Europe (and that's up against some pretty stiff competition) has suggested that it wants to slap a 150 forint tax - 38 ½ pence - on each gigabyte of data.

The government has defended its proposal by pointing out that it takes a toll on long-distance calls, so why shouldn't it do so on data, and added that it will, in its endless munificence, cap the tax.

The tax would be levied at the ISP level, and would be passed on to consumers. Understandably, the "down with austerity" internet generation has risen up in protest - by complaining about it on Facebook.

According to consultancy firm eNet, Hungarians "consumed" some 1,168 petabytes of data in 2013. Assuming that people didn't change their behaviour (which they would, obviously), the tax would raise the equivalent of around £450m.

Insane it may be, but it will no doubt be watched with interest by politicians in all the major capitals of Europe.