U.K. budget includes aid for e-commerce

Gordon Brown, Britain's chancellor of the exchequer, has promised financial assistance to help small companies embrace e-business. Brown said that as part of the 2002 U.K. budget delivered Wednesday, cash help will be offered to small companies that carry out their finances, such as their tax returns, online. The chancellor said companies will get a total of $57.7 million (40 million pounds) in the first year and $158.7 million in subsequent years to help with the costs of moving their trading systems to the Web. The Inland Revenue, an agency similar to the Internal Revenue Service in the United States, recently put its Pay As You Earn and Corporation Tax services online. Despite its popularity, there is still concern that many businesses, especially small companies, are not geared up to the potential of the Internet. Graeme Wearden reported from London. To read the full story, visit ZDNet U.K.