Problem: Smoking is bad for your health.
Solution: Put a tax on it.

Problem: We need to increase availability of broadband.
Solution: Put a tax on it.

“Government plans for a 50p-a-month tax on households to fund super-fast broadband across the country have been criticised by an influential group of MPs,” says a report on Sky News, and quite right too.

The instinct of this government is to tax, however clumsy or counter-productive it might be. If the government wants to encourage virtuous activity, they should give businesses an incentive to do it.

Follow-Up

I have to edit this and add the latest piece of insanity from this government. With a recession still ongoing and jobs, you would think, being a top priority, this government wants to increase the tax on jobs that is National Insurance. Not only will workers take home less pay, but employers will pay more too. So:

Problem: Low employment
Solution: Increase the tax on jobs