exoduster18
Member
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2005
- Messages
- 328
How about this one? It's also another British big brother scheme.
2 January 2006
CLOUDS SAVE US FROM SPY IN SKY
Taxman wanted to bill you for having new patio
By Bob Roberts Deputy Political Editor
A SPY in the sky system to tax home improvements was scrapped - because Britain is too cloudy and too crowded.
Tax inspectors were said to have wanted to use satellite photography to spot houses with new patios, conservatories and extensions.
They would be hit with higher council tax bills under the secret Inland Revenue plans.
The idea sparked outrage from civil liberties groups, who called it "ludicrous".
Shami Chakrabati, director of Liberty, said: "This is technology which should be used to monitor terrorist cells in Afghanistan - but it is being used to check on people's conservatories in Hampshire."
Tory spokeswoman Caroline Spelman accused the Government of "invading people's privacy and laying the ground for a new stealth tax on home improvements". But local government minister Phil Woolas blamed the Tories for spreading an untrue story, calling it "contemptible".
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Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott's office insisted yesterday the plan had already been dropped because it would not work.
A spokesman said the Government's Valuation Office Agency had looked at an American system of using aerial photography and satellites.
But the weather conditions in Britain, where it is often overcast, and due to streets crowded with houses meant it was "impractical".
He added: "The Valuation Office Agency have no plans whatsoever to use aerial photography in Britain.
"They have considered it in the past and decided that it would not be a useful tool." A source in the department added: "What works in the sparsely populated United States does not necessarily work here.
"It would have been totally unsuitable."
It is not the first time such hitech plans have been scuppered by Britain's gloomy weather.
The Mirror revealed last year that plans to track tagged criminals were ditched as satellites could not read signals because of heavy cloud cover, thick trees or tall buildings.
[email protected]
Link: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_obj...louds-save-us-from-spy-in-sky--name_page.html
2 January 2006
CLOUDS SAVE US FROM SPY IN SKY
Taxman wanted to bill you for having new patio
By Bob Roberts Deputy Political Editor
A SPY in the sky system to tax home improvements was scrapped - because Britain is too cloudy and too crowded.
Tax inspectors were said to have wanted to use satellite photography to spot houses with new patios, conservatories and extensions.
They would be hit with higher council tax bills under the secret Inland Revenue plans.
The idea sparked outrage from civil liberties groups, who called it "ludicrous".
Shami Chakrabati, director of Liberty, said: "This is technology which should be used to monitor terrorist cells in Afghanistan - but it is being used to check on people's conservatories in Hampshire."
Tory spokeswoman Caroline Spelman accused the Government of "invading people's privacy and laying the ground for a new stealth tax on home improvements". But local government minister Phil Woolas blamed the Tories for spreading an untrue story, calling it "contemptible".
Advertisement
Falk AdSolution
Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott's office insisted yesterday the plan had already been dropped because it would not work.
A spokesman said the Government's Valuation Office Agency had looked at an American system of using aerial photography and satellites.
But the weather conditions in Britain, where it is often overcast, and due to streets crowded with houses meant it was "impractical".
He added: "The Valuation Office Agency have no plans whatsoever to use aerial photography in Britain.
"They have considered it in the past and decided that it would not be a useful tool." A source in the department added: "What works in the sparsely populated United States does not necessarily work here.
"It would have been totally unsuitable."
It is not the first time such hitech plans have been scuppered by Britain's gloomy weather.
The Mirror revealed last year that plans to track tagged criminals were ditched as satellites could not read signals because of heavy cloud cover, thick trees or tall buildings.
[email protected]
Link: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_obj...louds-save-us-from-spy-in-sky--name_page.html
