Nottingham: Robbing from the poor?
A top business organisation has vowed to fight plans for a tax on workplace parking in Nottingham.
Derbyshire and Nottingham Chamber of Commerce has labelled the ‘workplace parking levy’ as worse than congestion charging.
Under the scheme, companies are able to decide whether to pass the charge on to employees.
The city council reportedly formally approved the levy on Monday and the scheme will be formally investigated by the government before a final go-ahead in granted.
The council is understood to be looking at a 75p a day charge to start in 2010.
The Chamber has now threatened legal action in a bid to stop the scheme, claiming it would hurt businesses.
George Cowcher, of Nottingham's chamber of commerce, said: ‘I'm sure businesses are going to take this matter extremely seriously and will be wanting to look at every aspect of it to see if it can be overturned. This is very bad news for Nottingham.
‘Why Nottingham is almost transfixed by imposing this particular levy is beyond belief.’
The council claims that the levy will target commuters, not shoppers, and would raise £5.6million in 2010 to pay for improvements to public transport.