Road Congestion Charges

Post by **Phant0m** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 2:45 pm

<a href="http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/traveltax/" target="_blank">http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/traveltax/</a>

Everyone sign please

UK residents only

Post by **Rasputin** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 2:50 pm

Doned

Post by **mcmav** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 3:31 pm

Elvis is dead.

Post by **Dangerous Bob** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 3:50 pm

Sounds like a good idea to me. It's only the price that I'd object to.
The guidelines they've issued so far means that I'd be better off......

Article in the paper reported that even though thousands have signed this thing, it's not going to alter the Governments thinking.

Post by **Hammer** » Fri Feb 16, 2007 10:39 pm

Errm what has this to do with gaming? Are we getting taxed for online fragging?

Post by **Eagle** » Fri Feb 16, 2007 10:50 pm

Hammer wrote: Errm what has this to do with gaming? Are we getting taxed for online fragging?

Hence why the post was moved

Post by **Clingy** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 12:08 pm

Terrible tax in it's principle. Not examined the detail though. I do hope this is not another assault on the rural population. My worst fear about this kind of tax is that it is a restriction on Labour movement which can only lead to a reduction is standards of living. At the moment we have areas around here where those on medium to lower incomes cannot live. The only way that they can staff the lower paid jobs in these areas is for people to travel (and there is no effective public transport in rural areas). This comes against a background of things like hospital closures and centralisation where staff and patients have to travel further (It's likely soon that our nearest A&E will be 40 miles away). Also our local post offices are closing at a rate of knots.

I'm surprised there is so much opposition though. The urban population ought to be much better...and the worst off? I guess people like us who want to stay in the area in which they were born yet travel for decent work. I just wish we had a socialist government or even a chance to vote for a socialist party.

Sat Feb 17, 2007 1:24 pm

I don't know Clingy although I think it will probably hit the Rural populations hardest I personally see this as badly affecting everyone. On the back of it they have claimed that they will scrap normal road taxing and I believe their was talk of scrapping road fuel tax.

But as with all things like this, what they say now and what actually happens are 2 totally different things, so they'll probably end up keeping the other taxes and just lumping this one on top

If you consider their is approximately 24million cars on the roads today, taking no account of people owning more than 1 car then I believe the current level of that petition is about 6.5% of the driving populace.

I also notice that no counter petition has popped up with any significant numbers of people signing it.

Post by **Clingy** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 7:10 pm

I know what you are saying Myo, but everyone wants lower taxes (and higher government spending). So unless you think any particular administration is more inefficient than another, taxes benefit us all. Personally I'd like to see higher taxes. What we perhaps all against here is that the motorist is shouldering an unfair proportion of taxes. But at the moment with the green lobby so dominant in the media it's going to be so more difficult to defend. My main issue is that, as rural dwellers (ooo arhhh), we have no option but to use the roads.

My solution would be to increase speeding fines dramatically and place many more speeding cameras in camoflaged locations.

/me dons flame retardant suit.

Post by **Claw** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 8:41 pm

Less people are smoking, so less tax revenue there. (Which is good for people, bad for Government)

Is the lottery as popular as it once was? I've never bothered with it but people don't talk about it as much so I can imagine it isn't. Casino's, if any will take them seriously, their reinvention is still undergoing establishment - so no immediate revenue there for the Government.

Hiking fuel prices on a permanent basis has too much profile, people notice this in a very direct way at the pump or when they choose their garage. However there has been a measure of success in sporadic hikes, quick bursts of revenue, and then a quick drop to make people feel they are empowered.

Tax on alcohol, a sure thing as long as Clingy doesn't leave the country.

Road congestion charges, an immediate two pronged burst of cash in the form of those who pay full whack at first then after that as they start paying the hiked prices of public transport in an attempt to "save" money.

It pays for the war, an influx of immigrants who this country robbed in the first place, and in the furor provides a smokescreen for any other things Governments do when the people are looking the other way.

I could be wrong though... they might even be concerned about the environment...

Post by **Hippy** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 4:38 pm

Dont worry, surely all the money being taken from the new pricing scheme will be pumped straight into public transport to give us seemless and cheap access to our cities.

Whatever. . . .
This is a complete farce!