Government response to Road Tax changes petition
Government response to Road Tax changes petition
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Discussion

Zead

Original Poster:

377 posts

229 months

Friday 30th January 2009
quotequote all
http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page17534

I have just read this response to a petition I signed about asking the Prime Minister to "Abolish the 2008 Budget vehicle Road Tax changes as they are unfair and pretend to be "green"

WTF are they on about. Is this a mistake or are they so out of touch they can't even address the issues presented to them?

Has anyone else looked at this?

Z

tipowski

2 posts

205 months

Friday 30th January 2009
quotequote all
I'm equally as confused.

It doesn't answer the petition in the slightest.

I don't know about anyone else but it seems to me that the whole petition system isn't taken seriously by the gov at all and is in fact a rather pointless waste of my time and my tax money that could be better spent elsewhere.

Can anyone think of a petition that has succeded which has been hosted on this site?




HA51EMT

551 posts

216 months

Friday 30th January 2009
quotequote all
WTF has fuel duty to do with Road Fund Licence??

Confused of Yorkshire.

Mr Whippy

32,156 posts

263 months

Friday 30th January 2009
quotequote all
Why does anyone expect anything but bullst from them all?

Politicians in this country serve themselves, and have done for a while now. The sooner they are all out and replaced with representatives of the hard working tax payers and contributors of this nation, the better!

Dave

SLacKer

2,622 posts

229 months

Sunday 1st February 2009
quotequote all
It is only a democracy when there is an election all other times it is a dictatorship.

These petitions are pointless just like the government that put the machanism in place.

vive la revolution................

jkennyd

3,142 posts

221 months

Sunday 1st February 2009
quotequote all
SLacKer said:
It is only a democracy when there is an election all other times it is a dictatorship.

These petitions are pointless just like the government that put the machanism in place.

vive la revolution................
They will sit and listen and sort out your complaints as the election looms and want your vote then.......Kablam......they're gone and we go back to be st on their shoe

PHR

15 posts

205 months

Monday 2nd February 2009
quotequote all
I think at first they generally believed they were doing the right thing by having these online petitions. Now they think they're a waste of time and give the voting public too much chance to have their say. I've laughed at some of the replies I've received after voting on some of the petitions.

FNG

4,612 posts

246 months

Monday 2nd February 2009
quotequote all
jkennyd said:
SLacKer said:
It is only a democracy when there is an election all other times it is a dictatorship.

These petitions are pointless just like the government that put the machanism in place.

vive la revolution................
They will sit and listen and sort out your complaints as the election looms and want your vote then.......Kablam......they're gone and we go back to be st on their shoe
No... they won't listen. They'll just tell you they're listening.

Ultimately they'll do what they think is right for you regardless of what you say, and they'll tell you it's what you asked for. Repeated enough times, some people will even believe it.

the_scorpion

1,128 posts

217 months

Thursday 5th February 2009
quotequote all
I got the same response. I have complained to my local MP but i wont hold my breath waiting for an answer from her.

LeoZwalf

2,802 posts

252 months

Thursday 5th February 2009
quotequote all
That is really bizarre. It completely smacks of "La la la, I'm not listening!" - their reply bangs on about fuel duty but the petition is about road tax!

For the benefit of the lazy people who did not click the link:

Petition said:
“We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to abolish the 2008 Budget vehicle Road Tax changes as they are unfair and pretend to be “green”

Details of Petition:

“The Government clearly is milking the green issue to maximise revenue from personal taxation and we the public have had enough. We the public ask that the Government revoke the 2008 vehicle taxation changes as proposed in Alastair Darlings budget as the current taxes are high enough and address the true culprits of C02, industry.”
And the response:

Shower said:
The Government’s approach to fuel duty is underpinned by a long-term strategy of promoting lower-carbon transport. And it is Government policy for fuel duty to increase each year at least in line with inflation. This will help to send a long-term signal in favour of greater fuel efficiency on the roads, as well as funding essential public services such as schools and hospitals all across the UK.

Earlier in 2008, however, faced with the unusually difficult conditions created by surging global commodity prices – including crude oil prices, which nearly doubled in the 12 months to July, when they reached a real-terms record high of $146 per barrel – the Government responded by postponing the 2 pence per litre increase in main fuel duty that was expected to take place on 1 October 2008. This decision helped businesses and families across the UK cope with record high fuel prices over the summer.

Since the summer, however, crude oil prices have fallen by more than 60%, while both petrol and diesel prices at the pump have dropped by more than 20 pence per litre, bringing the average retail petrol price down below £1 per litre for the past five weeks. Petrol and diesel prices both also continue to fall. In these circumstances, it is right for the Government to return to its long-term policy of increasing fuel duty rates each year, and so at the recent Pre-Budget Report the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that on 1 December this year fuel duty will increase by 2 pence per litre, to 52.35 pence per litre. This increase will continue to support the Government’s long-term environmental objectives while also protecting the revenues required to fund essential public services.

At the same time, however, the Chancellor also announced that the standard rate of VAT, which is also charged on fuel, would be cut by 2.5% to 15% for a period of 13 months. As a result of this cut, fuel prices for the private motorist are likely to be largely unchanged by the increase in fuel duty – and any increase in the price of fuel following from the 1 December tax changes will certainly be far less than the falls of over 20 pence per litre in fuel prices that we have seen in the past few months.
The rolling eyes smiley doesn't get anywhere near the despair I am feeling. I went for a simple Thumbs Down instead.

And I don't even live in the UK anymore!

WOO5IE

953 posts

219 months

Thursday 5th February 2009
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I'm amazed that anyone is amazed that this shower would have any different response. Pick any topic and they wouldnt listen. They call it democracy!!

On a radio dial in the other week there was a question on whom works from home and is the furthest away from 'work' Various callers called in and one was OZ and another New Zealand. I had to smile when Gordon Brown was suggested as he works in Westminster but lives an another planet.
Unfortunately its not far from the truth so its not funny really as none of them live in the real world and certainly never worked in it.

Woosi5

HappyS3owner

15,855 posts

251 months

Thursday 5th February 2009
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Anyone got that link to the complain to your MP website, I've not given ours some abuse for a while...

the_scorpion

1,128 posts

217 months

Friday 6th February 2009
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You should find them here.

http://www.theyworkforyou.com/