I've just got a BlackBerry. It's a pretty amazing little thing, although the emphasis is very much on the "little" at the moment - but I'm sure my fingers will get used to the tiny keyboard eventually.
An employer is allowed to provide an employee with a mobile phone, tax-free. In other words, the employee doesn't pay any tax in return for the benefit of having access to the phone, regardless of how much personal use he or she makes of it. Unlike with, say, a company car, where the employee does pay tax in return for the benefit of using it. It used to be the case that the employee could be given multiple phones on that basis, until the Revenue realised that many business owners were providing phones to their spouse and children and putting the whole lot through the company books. So at that point the law was changed to limit an employee to just one phone.
Apparently, though, a BlackBerry isn't classed as a phone for tax purposes. It's classed as a computer. And providing an employee with the use of a computer (as long as there is at least occasional business use) is another tax-free benefit - but without that "one per employee" limitd. So, as long as the cost isn't prohibitive, some business owners will no doubt be considering dishing out BlackBerrys to their families, all paid through their company. Worth thinking about, as long as you trust the kids not to run up bills that dwarf the tax savings!
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