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Section : Tax Exemption
Posted By : Graham Peter Senior, 09-Jun-2005,
03:55pm
Someone's got to start this thread off, and as I can't see it anywhere else, I'll do it.
So, what do we as a Club think about these proposals to replace the Road Fund Licence and Fuel Duty with some hi-tech black box, and charge some amount per
mile, based on where and when (and quite possibly HOW) we drive?
What will be the effects on the club cars which are presently Tax Exempt ?
Do we really want 'Big Brother' to know where we've been ? (Personally, if some Civil Servant has got nothing better to do than to see where I'm taking my
Spit, then I feel really sorry for his/her career prospects!)
If forced to go 'hi-tech', will we have both positive and negative earth GPS systems ?
Who will pay? No, I'm being naive now. You can bet your bottom dollar that we, then motorists, will pay.
There must be a hundred and one other sides to this. Come on - comment, Let's brainstorm this and have a good debate.
Should or can the Club organise some sort of petition before this noinsense gets out of hand ? Don't think that 15 years is a long way off - today,
Alistair Darling has announced that he intends to have a significant trial, in a major conurbation, within 5 years. It could be YOUR town or City. It could
be YOUR car(s) that's affected.
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Posted By : Colin Wake, 09-Jun-2005,
05:33pm
probably best not to tell anyone that Positive earth cars exist, that will deal will a small no. of black boxes, in a little cloud of white smoke. They
will probably be affected by ignition interferrence so we can all throw away our supressors on the dynamos and distributors, thats another small no. of
boxes sorted.
It will be for sure that there is no reduction in fuel duty or RFL, as that will remove a guaranteed revenue stream, what if people actually did stop
using their cars as much, then the money would dry up. That can't be allowed to happen. Just look at what has happened to Ken Livingstone, he has had
increase the congestion charge as not enough people are going into London. Also about 50% of people are not bothering to pay it, so they are obviously
not driving cars registered to them, now that is scary.
Just the first few thoughts
Colin
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Posted By : Don Cook, 09-Jun-2005,
06:00pm
Well, if the £1.30 per mile figure is used I will need a £1500 per week pay rise just to get to work and back!
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Posted By : Colin Wake,
09-Jun-2005, 06:43pm
Like that's gonna happen!
I might try my luck tomorrow, say I need it now just in case...
Colin
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Posted By : Philip Brammer,
09-Jun-2005, 08:06pm
I can foresee my 'black box' staying in the garage connected to a spare battery or having a nice time in the microwave! I'm very very rural
and cannot see this idiot idea getting off the ground. Statistics show that almost everyone likely to have a car has already got one (and
we have a proportionatley older population with fewer younger car owners to take over) so where is the future gridlock??
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Posted By : Chris Wilson,
09-Jun-2005, 08:24pm
Typical bloody absurd idea from some pea-brained tin-pot hair-less chested bureaucratic overpaid numbskull who is obviously trying to
impress someone and score brownie points!! Ah - feel better now! So what else is/has the government tried to do to lessen traffic on the
roads apart from what has already been mentioned? Hmm - so called "surface dressing" to improve road surfaces - guaranteed to devalue any
vehicle the minute you drive on it and cause many hours of stone chip repair and windscreen replacement etc etc!! Speed humps etc that
appear overnight in some places and then "reproduce" at an alarming rate - don't get me wrong here - I'm all for any safety asset that
reduces deaths/injury on our roads but 9 speed bumps in an 800 metre stretch is a bit much!! More and more roads that are a bugger to drive
on due to lack of maintenance and funds!!?? Yeah right!! Increased duty on fuel every few weeks, more and more regulations concerning
emissions!! Can't wait for the next ploy that comes out of the bowels of our illustrious "leadership" - total ban on petrol/diesel/LPG
powered vehicles perhaps?? Only electric powered vehicles allowed?? Gawd - time for a beer me thinks!!
That's my ha'penny worth anyway - and I can still remember what a ha'penny bought in those long bygone days - erm - read it in a book
somewhere!!
Regards
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Posted By : Chris Wilson,
09-Jun-2005, 08:28pm
Hmmm - just thought - doesn't Mike (Crewes) get a notification of some sort when a message is posted in the legal section?? Perhaps it
might be better to move this thread into the general Club section or the Lounge section?? Like I say - just a thought.
Regards
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Posted By : Neil Cooper,
09-Jun-2005, 08:42pm
It made me so angry today to see that complete 'arse' Alistair Darling trying to justify this idiotic idea. It made me even more angry
reading some of the comments made by small-minded people on the BBC news website who actually applaud this idea.
Abolish Road tax ?? I don't pay road tax !! Half the duty on Fuel ??? Is that going to help pay my £240 a day i'll be
charged to travel from Wilton, Salisbury to London in my Spitfire ???
How will businesses cope ?? I see many vans/cars travelling up the A303/M3 every morning - the cost of travelling to
jobs/sites/delivery drops will be murderous.
Millions will be spent ... the scheme will fail ... then it'll be scrapped - at our expense !!!
AND WHERE IN THE ELECTION MANIFESTO WAS THIS ?? I DON'T REMEMBER SEEING IT ... DO YOU ????
School runs, short journeys and accidents cause gridlock - my travelling time is almost halved when the schools are on holiday. No
shool runs ... no traffic problem.
They really must look at this from a different angle !!
WHo voted this government in anyway ?? I certainly didn't !!!!!!
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Posted By : Mark Heaps,
09-Jun-2005, 10:08pm
pages 24 and 25 of the Labour Manifesto - there is a clear commitment to tackle congestion by moving away from the current road tax
system.
apparently
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Posted By : Colin
Wake, 09-Jun-2005, 10:55pm
Ah, so you're the person who read it. Do I get a reduction in my council tax for finding you??
Colin
I am not 1 of the 22% either.
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Posted By : Philip Wright, 11-Jun-2005, 03:39pm
As far as i'm concerned it's yet again another stealth tax on the motorist, but I doubt it'll get through parliament. I
drive approx. 40k miles a year in my company car, plus around 5k a year in my spitfire. The tax burden would mean I wouldnt
be able to live! I don't want to get into a political argument here, but as I see it, it's just another radical proposal
put forward by a government which is losing public support. How this is supposed to help I don't know. Thank goodness we
still have the house of lords - they seem to have a little more common sense!
I'll get off my high horse, and go for a spin in my environmentally friendly Spitfire!!!!
Phil
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Posted By : John Davies, 24-Jun-2005, 02:49pm
All,
Not a runner (as it were) IMHO.
Apart from all the above, it is divisive and far from ecological. If all that we pay for is miles, then those who want
to can load up their Hummers and blast down the road at 6mpg. Fine way to Save the Whale.
Again IMHO, and having just come back from France, why are we not compelled to display our insurance cover note, or
equivalent in a little ticket thing, on the windscreen? Plenty will avoid, just like they avoid Road Fund Tax, but no
one can get away with false insurance details in case of an accident.
Oh, and worried about BB knowing where you are? Unless you NEVER use your mobile phone, he does already.
JOhn
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Posted By : Colin Lindsay, 24-Jun-2005, 05:47pm
This also applies to Eire however there are still numbers of motorists crossing the border into the North with fake
Insurance discs displayed on the screen. There's no easy way to find this out unless you telephone the Insurance
Company and go through the entire spectrum of 'press 1 for...' and 'press 2 for....'
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Posted By : Leon Guyot, 25-Jun-2005, 08:02am
You could always emigrate!
Regards
Léon
81/2119
63 Vitesse Cv
Oregon, West Coast, USA
Petrol presently 1.55 GBP/UK Gallon - but getting more expensive quickly!
Bi-Annual Registration Fee 25 GBP, (59 GBP with 'vanity' plate)
But:
NO MOT
NO Emissons (over 25 years old)
NO Congestion charge - No Ken!
NO Road Tax
NO Council Parking Charge - like in London
NO salt on roads in winter and I finally have a garage - unlike in London
Oh yeah, No VAT/Sales Tax in this State
Perhaps my Vitesse will live forever?
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Posted By : Colin Lindsay, 25-Jun-2005, 03:53pm
No MOT???????
No salt on the roads?
Yep, I reckon your Vitesse will last forever, but even if it does start to rot - who's gonna know???
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Posted By : John Fannon, 06-Jul-2005,
12:58pm
The real issue here is that this will definately not solve the congestion problem, it will just mean we are paying more tax to sit in a traffic jam. As
long as people are still required to travel using the car there will be congestion. Some better ideas are:
1) Encourage flexible working and flexible hours. There is an obsession in this country with working from 9 to 5...this means that 80% of the workforce
are on the road at the same time. With broadband many officed based staff could easily work from home, but many companies frown on this and don't trust
their own employees. Not only does it reduce congestion but also emissions, the other bonus is not having your boss sitting next to you all day!
2) Invest in rail travel - our rail network is pretty good, but the investment in it is still poor. If the trains were on time (they are getting
there), comfortable and affordable and not mostly ancient, overcrowded and expensive, then many more people would use them.
3) Restrict lorrys to the inside lane on motorways. How many times have you been stuck in a jam only to find it's caused by two lorries overtaking each
other up a hill? Also, do not allow wide loads on the motorway during the day....surely the guy who wants his portacabin moved can do this at
night??
4) Reduce the amount of miles that goods travel - why are we shipping dutch strawberries into our supermarkets when we can make perfectly good
strawberries here?? Why are we transporting cows for miles in lorries to a central abattoir, killing them and sending them all the way back
again???
John