Google tax could pay for Digital Britain

It would seem that Government ministers are willing to considering any option that would raise funds to rollout the next generation of broadband services and help fund public service broadcasting too.

The latest idea is to tax search engines, internet service providers and sites that offer downloads, in order to bring in some much needed revenues.

It is possible that the government could be getting around £100 million per year in tax but in turn, as with all businesses, the cost of this is going to be passed onto the customer.

The obvious way for these online companies to claw back some of this tax would be to charge for services that are currently free such as email, social networking, searches and even some content.

Could the opportunity to plunder the internet for cash, be too much of a temptation for the government?