The Coalition Takes A(nother) Leaf Right Out Of The NuLabour Playbook

The Post Office increased the sales tax for its 500,000 telephone customers to 20 per cent from early October, the Daily Mail has discovered.
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By contrast, Chancellor George Osborne will have reason to smile, because all the extra cash, which is likely to run to several million pounds, will not go to the phone companies, but straight into Government coffers.

The decision to bring forward the rise – which the taxman insists is up to the companies’ discretion – has been described as ‘lazy billing’, as it is an easier and cheaper option for the firms than changing computer software to reflect a change part-way through a billing cycle.

Whilst I understand this is at the companies discretion doesn't this just smack of Gordon Brown's attempts in 2009 to retroactively tax companies to shore up his falling tax revenues?

Will we be seeing a consummate drop in the deficit or current debt mountain with this money? I won't be holding my breath.

My advice to those people stung by this is to punish the companies greatly by getting on Uswitch and finding someone else; likely won't be cheaper but at least they'll know not to mess with your cash?