Tuesday 13th May 2008

Parking Tax Proposed

Businesses vow to fight parking levy in Nottingham

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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.

[Andrew[MG]]

This has made me more angry than most of the tax stories on PH. Paying a tax to park on your own land!?!?! I really hope that the people of Nottingham fight this one to the death.

Does anyone know if the council have given a set of plans for the new free transport system they are going to build?

[Dibby]

Good luck Nottingham!

Based on the protests against the London congestion charges, you might as well sit back and take it, the local councils won't listen and they'll do what they like regardless of who gets voted for in the local elections or how much the people complain.

[layabout]

[Andrew[MG]]

Dibby said:

Good luck Nottingham!

Based on the protests against the London congestion charges, you might as well sit back and take it, the local councils won't listen and they'll do what they like regardless of who gets voted for in the local elections or how much the people complain.

It depends how much people dislike the idea of getting robbed. If everyone take the attitude of "you might as well sit back and take it" then you will get screwed over at every opportunity. If people properly protest, take a day off work, block the city, throw rotten fruit at the mayor and get the campaign noticed then they at least have a chance.

[Fetchez la vache]

article said:

raise £5.6million in 2010 to pay for improvements to public transport.

OK, who believes this?

[Collaudatore]

Fetchez la vache said:

article said:

raise £5.6million in 2010 to pay for improvements to public transport.

OK, who believes this?

I think the idea of that comment was to give us a little laugh after reading such a disgrace.

[sprinter885]

Surely the only legal way they could do this would be to simply increase Business Rates?
Mind you that's giving them an idea how to get away with it AND avoid a backlash so forget I said it.........

Am I mistaken or is UK being taken over by subversive Communists out to sting the general public "for the benefit of the state" ????

[dom101]

People of Nottingham and the world! As a Mancunian, I am looking forward to the 'Manchester Congestion Charge' hitting me to the tune of £3 per day. This may not sound a lot, but it is £15 per week, £720 per year which I have no budget for. What I will personally do to balance this extra cost is resort to making my own lunch, saving aroung £3 per day. A bit more hassle for me; and £720 pounds a year removed from Manchesters local economy. And what are they gonna do with the revenue? Probably pedestrianise the whole bloody city! If only they would sort out public transport, everytime I travel on bus/tram/train it's full of scallys, drunks and gobby kids! Argghhhhhh.... Fight these BS taxes all the way. As recently proven in London, congestion or parking taxation does not reduce environmental impact.

[kelk]

dom101 said:

People of Nottingham and the world! As a Mancunian, I am looking forward to the 'Manchester Congestion Charge' hitting me to the tune of £3 per day. This may not sound a lot, but it is £15 per week, £720 per year which I have no budget for. What I will personally do to balance this extra cost is resort to making my own lunch, saving aroung £3 per day. A bit more hassle for me; and £720 pounds a year removed from Manchesters local economy. And what are they gonna do with the revenue? Probably pedestrianise the whole bloody city! If only they would sort out public transport, everytime I travel on bus/tram/train it's full of scallys, drunks and gobby kids! Argghhhhhh.... Fight these BS taxes all the way. As recently proven in London, congestion or parking taxation does not reduce environmental impact.

Dom,

Hate to mention this but I think you may be being a little naive here.

It will start at £3 per day but when it is not seen to be effective enough at detering traffic it will be increased to £5 as a minimum would be my guess.

[dom101]

Yeah, just seen it would £3 entering Manchester, £2 to leave. Can you believe they, we'll have to pay to leave!!! Check the link (cheekee mofo's) - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/25_05_0...

[gazza_3]

This is a fking joke. What stupid half assed little prick thought of this idea, i can imagine he is a jobs worth .

[Vipers]

Here we go again screw the motorists.

My little rant is that I pulled into the Long term parking at Aberdeen airport yesterday morning, and found a lot of parking bays coned off, when I asked the guy what was going on, he told me they were repairing the road adjacent to the bays, and if you parked there, you may get your car damaged.

Time was running out for my plane, not finding a vacant bay, headed for the exit, now I know its £6.80 for 24 hour parking, but as I was only in there for 9 minutes, I was a little pi$$ed having to pay the total £6.80 to get out, not only but the ticket says I exited at 0550 13th, in fact I exited at 0550 on the 12th, I shall be putting pen to paper to NCP when I get home.

[roosevelt]

Where's Robin Hood when you need him?

[mmltonge]

Vipers said:

now I know its £6.80 for 24 hour parking

Lucky sod. It's £4.80 or so per HOUR at Heathrow!

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The comment about the 5.6 million being spent on Public Transport is hilarious. Considering Manchester are attempting to introduce congestion charging to "win" £1billion in order to "improve" the Metro etc, I can £5.9 million amounting to maybe 2 new buses, and 100 metres of railway line. What great value for money and definitely worth fking people over for.

Edited by mmltonge on Tuesday 13th May 12:09

[crackedfinger]

tax tax tax tax - last time I heard of this one there was talk around loopholes with unmarked parking bays etc. Apparently (last time) this was linked to the amount of marked bays a company has on its own land. Just unmark them and hey presto?

[eebyeck]

All that the companies need to do is landscape their car parks while all employees go out and buy gas guzzling 4x4's so they don't get stuck whilst parking on the carpark... Sorry! parking on the garden!

The added bonus to this is that you can tell the greenies that you do use your 4x4 to go off road.

Sorted!

[mikeveal]

Ok, lets say I drive to work some days, and cycle other days.

Who is to say how much I should pay? Will the employers have to install numberplate recognition systems (I drive a trike & I have no front numberplate). Will employers have to install a barrier / ticket system? Who pays for that? Or will council parking wardens be given free reign to roam company car parks?

What hapens if I work half a day? Half rates?

Doesn't sound like a workable scheme to me. All you need to do is lie about the number of days you cycle to work and the council are screwed.

Badly though out Nottingham, I think you deserve a hearty "nil points".

Sooo, when's the next local elections up there?

[Sivraj]

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.

Surely instead of confronting the staff and telling them that basically they are getting a pay cut the business's will pass this cost on to the shoppers/ customers anyway.

Stop the fools before this get out of hand and we get lumbered with yet more tax's.

[midcuk]

another council trying to screw the tax payer to cover up for its shortfallings elsewhere, how much more can they rape us until we fold, then who will they start on next to generate revenue ?

[MitchT]

I've come to the conclusion that if the people of this country don't grow some teeth and have a general strike then they deserve this sh*t. We're long past the point when folks should have said 'enough is enough'.