Upper income taxpayers pulling lowly town clerks enviro barge to donut shop for scheduled union coffee break.
Posted on 08/07/2006 11:22:21 AM PDT by colrpfournier
Already reeling from high petrol prices and road taxes, Britain's drivers are now threatened with a new financial burden.
The Government hopes to facilitate a nationwide pay-as-you-go system for vehicles, fitting black boxes into cars to monitor how much, and where, motorists drive.
It is typically New Labour in its nosiness, and would enable the extension across the country on a consistent basis of congestion-charging schemes. There are only two of these at present, in Durham and in London. In both, the result has been a slow strangulation of small businesses.
In Durham, admittedly, congestion has been reduced, but the scheme covers only a tiny area. In London, there has been no noticeable improvement to journey times.
Tolls are not wrong in principle. Those who use a service must pay for it, and tolls have a role in the funding of a road network. However, the fee must be fair. Motorists would, rightly, recoil at tolls being added to the existing heavy burden of VAT and excise duty on petrol, and to the vehicle excise duty. If there is to be road pricing, then these taxes must be reduced or even abolished. Equally, revenue should be spent on improving the roads. The economic consequences of charging, notably on businesses and hauliers, need to be evaluated carefully, and local public transport alternatives properly understood. The best way to do these things is to take charging decisions locally.
The Government sees things differently. Douglas Alexander, the Secretary of State for Transport, has decided to take control of the whole apparatus. Pay-as-you-go schemes will have to be "inter-operable" and consistent with "national frameworks". And so, by implication, will drivers and shopkeepers. This ignores the fact that those who live, work and drive in an area know what is best for it. Local councils can weigh the cost of traffic jams and economic vibrancy against that of charges. In an attempt to do just this, Essex County Council has asked the Government to fund research into the effects of imposing tolls on the roads to Stansted Airport. The Government would be wise to allow councils to do what, after consulting their electorates, they feel is right. If schemes do not then work, they can easily be modified or scrapped.
This Government, however, is not - and never can be - that user-friendly. It is not primarily interested in local congestion. If it were, it would provide cheaper public transport, this being the only guaranteed way to reduce other traffic. Its aims are less noble. Pay-as-you-go schemes and little black boxes may claim to ease traffic congestion, but no one will readily believe that is their primary purpose. The motorist has long been an easy source of revenue for the Treasury, and these plans are intended to prise another golden egg out of the goose. They ignore, too, the fact that our economy is hugely dependent on the car and on road transport. The Government interferes with that equation at its, and our, peril.
The Brits are being taxed to death, but then so are we when we consider ALL taxes.
Lyrics for: Taxman
[1,2,3,4
Hrmm!
1,2...
1,2,3,4.]
Let me tell you how it will be
There's one for you, nineteen for me
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman
Should five per cent appear too small
Be thankful I don't take it all
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah I'm the taxman
If you drive a car, I'll tax the street
If you try to sit, I'll tax your seat
If you get too cold I'll tax the heat
If you take a walk, I'll tax your feet
Taxman!
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah I'm the taxman
Don't ask me what I want it for (Aahh Mr. Wilson)
If you don't want to pay some more (Aahh Mr. Heath)
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman
Now my advice for those who die
Declare the pennies on your eyes
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman
And you're working for no one but me
Taxman!
Locking the population into small, isolated urban concentrations makes them easier to control and manipulate. Every dictator from the dawn of time has known this.
The information superhighway of the internet, too, is being examined and steps are being taken to choke it down.
"The Brits are being taxed to death, but then so are we when we consider ALL taxes."
Our taxes (in the US) are bad, but nothing like the level they pay in the UK and most of Europe...
"Locking the population into small, isolated urban concentrations makes them easier to control and manipulate. Every dictator from the dawn of time has known this."
Very true, which is why I'm surprised the EU isn't behind this. Expect them to follow suit in 5, 4, 3...
With this much BS no wonder the British are such good gardeners.
Good comment. Especially mushroom gardeners.
With taxes, the total cost of operating a vehicle in continental Europe was a about $1.75 per MILE, at least, vs. .445 (IRS est.)here.
It is shocking what they put up with.
BTW, I saw no hybrid vehicles there, only Diesel.
Great and appropriate! It's a keeper!
We could purchase VW and Mercedes diesels here until this year but our government reimposed an embargo on diesel imports until 2008.
I own a diesel auto and, regardless of the higher prices paid for fuel, it's still more economical than a gasoline fueled engine.
HA!!!!
I can hear the legendary Stevie Ray Vaughn now!
I fear today's European tax rates will be ours tomorrow. The rats kicked the can down the road once again when President Bush proposed Social Security reform. Same for Medicare.
Near 50% of us pay little or no taxes, the top 1% pay . . .
Socialism is here and it will get worse.
Correction: Near 50% of us pay little or no income taxes, the top 1% pay . . .
you think its bad now, wait until we get a VAT tax
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