Safe Speed Forums

I was under the impression that a commute isn't a "business related" journey form a taxable perspective. It's certainly a journey I've never been able to claim for. The free parking space is just that, it's a benefit that is free. Many businesses operate car parks that users have to pay for, in these cases, it isn't a perk.




Oh come on! If you're going to come out with that kind of argument, then I can just turn around and say "Well, you've got no choice but to drive to work, so tough luck, you've got to pay the parking tax. If you don't think that's fair, well? life isn't fair!"



Hey, I never said a perfect public transport system did exist! I've never believed everyone has a choice in how they get to work, hence me saying that "a significant number" could have other options other than single occupancy vehicle travel. It's not a case of one (private transport) or the other (public transport), it never will be without ridiculous (and practically impossible) investment in a public transport system. That doesn't mean the current status-quo isn't in dire need of changing though...

I guess you've already paid for it by buying the land in the first place. Is council tax related to the amount of off-street parking you've got?



It already is! See above and having the money to buy enough space to park you car/cars.

Ah, but did councils look at it like that 25 years ago, when I first bought my house?

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Useless laws weaken necessary laws.

Ah! Nice one about homeworkers.

When the office staff have to pay to park, I'll charge the home based staff too. It's only fair.

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Malcolm W.
The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not represent the views of Safespeed.

When they introduced parking charges where my wife worked as a nurse at a local hospital (wiping out her pay rise) it was the last straw and she quit. She now works at a local school! Free parking and NHS's loss! Many Nurses parked on a local housing estate and walked to work from there. Not good for the residents.

There is no doubt that parking charges have caused many lower payed staff to leave.

I think the vast majority of private companies will foot the bill for the staff if it goes ahead, otherwise they will lose people. The upshot will be higher salarys and an increase in inflation.

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Speed camera policy Kills

I recall discussing this before, but unless a workplace is in a location where the only alternative parking is paid-for I fail to see how free workplace parking can be considered a taxable benefit. And, given that employers provide all kinds of benefits that are not taken up by all employees, the "missing out" argument doesn't really wash. Interest-free season ticket loans, maybe?

Given that most employers own the freehold of the land on which they're situated, I can't see how the cost of providing a parking space can be anything remotely like £3 a day unless you compare it with the theoretical alternative of selling off the land. And I used to work for British Aerospace at Woodford who had an airfield on which you could easily park ten thousand cars.

In fact, by keeping employees' parked cars off local roads, employers providing free parking are giving the local authority a benefit


Maybe, but I'm sure there are still large numbers of employees who, because of the location of their workplace and/or home, and the time of day they are commuting, do not have a practical public transport alternative, in which case it seems grossly unfair to levy a charge on them for commuting by car. And if you confine yourself to workplaces accessible by PT, you greatly limit your job options.

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"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

I think the calculations must've been based on either theoretical costs of selling off the land, or on the building and subsequent maintenance of the car park (hard engineering, security etc.). I'm not sure interest free loans could really be considered in the same league as the subsidies provided to motorists (my current employer provides such loans upto £500 spread over 12 months), but I take your point. Maybe if there was more equity than those who do/can choose not to commute by car would be more likely to do so?



Ha ha! You could also argue that by keeping them from parking in LA car parks they are starving the LA of valuable revenue!



Oh yes, I have no issue with the perceived unfairness of such a tax, just like the current VED and fuel tax are also unfair. I was merely trying to put forward a differing viewpoint, rather than specifically going out of my way to defend the car-parking-space levy. I'm not sure there is an answer to reducing congestion that isn't unfair to some folk though.

My previous post was actually a question! I don't know if councils do, or did look at parking when assessing council tax (or it's predecessors)!

But parking restrictions are never, ever, ever used to generate revenue!

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Andrew.

If my employers want to get me "out of my car and on to public transport" that's fine by me.

However, the fact that I will then be able to work for them only on Wednesdays, between 11.30 am and 2.30 pm, might be a bit of a drawback.

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Save a cow - eat a vegetarian

I've split the general discussion about local taxation to a new topic here:

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=18328

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"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

Here we go!.....As soon as Gordo' puts a tax on private parking spaces.........the private railway and bus Companies will see a gap in the market to increase their fares by the same amount despite there being no further pressure on them by the move......

We'll end up..(if we haven't already) with the most expensive, useless, self serving, public transport system in the world!

What was it that John Major said: "Back to Basics"?...............Yep! you betcha John....you betcha!

Chickens....Roost........Home!

As soon as the public transport was sold-off into private_public_transport it was apparent that little profit would be made.
So the biz became publicly subsidised privately owned transport.
After all, no point selling something that would make a loss is there ?
In any case, if you want a good read, with no bias, try THIS.
From THIS

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The world runs on oil, period. No other substance can compete when it comes to energy density, flexibility, ease of handling, ease of transportation. If oil didn’t exist we would have to invent it.”

56 years after it was decided it was needed, the Bedford Bypass is nearing completion. The last single carriageway length of it.We have the most photogenic mayor though, always being photographed doing nothing

Not stirring things ,but how much does the interest free loans for council employees vehicles (if still going on) does it starve the public purse of funds ??

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on

Let's not forget the infamous"mileage allowance" as well.
Something like £0.97 per mile.
And also the "not-so-hidden" subsidy of free secure parking, at taxpayers expense. Where we get preached-to about being profligate polluters, and told to use "park-and-ride", while the council employees (mostly in town centres) get to drive to said carparks.
Or like mid-beds council, move to a country-side location, in brand-new offices, with minimal PT, but a large carpark.
Nothing like a bit of local-council-hypocrisy, like we've never noted that before have we ?

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The world runs on oil, period. No other substance can compete when it comes to energy density, flexibility, ease of handling, ease of transportation. If oil didn’t exist we would have to invent it.”

56 years after it was decided it was needed, the Bedford Bypass is nearing completion. The last single carriageway length of it.We have the most photogenic mayor though, always being photographed doing nothing

I really don't know how much I'm afraid Botach, I would hazard a guess that it wouldn't be a significant amount as the maximum you're allowed is £500. I get the impression it isn't particularly overly subscribed either!



Yep, you would've thought that somebody would've considered very early on in the feasibility study bit of the project! -

"Hang on Folks, PT costs us £xxx much a year already, how are we going to sell it the private sector without suffering drastically reduced services or massive subsidies?"



97p a mile??? Jeez, I'm in the wrong job! In my previous and current employment the going rate is 40p a mile. Mind you, it wouldn't make a difference to me anyway.

Lots of hyprocrisy in local councils? You won't get any argument from me about that!

And that paid to councillors to get to meetings .
Then again - most council employees cars I see have a pass for all carparks in that area .
Did someone mention -season tickets - seem to remember that govt employees had an interest free loan scheme for this .

Then again - years ago I worked for GEC - we had a staff shop -where we could buy goods at a discount - most of the large supermarkets do this -why stop at free parking ??.But then some Chancellor decided that free shares to staff was a perk -till the press got involved.

And to top it all -what about the "Members bar " in the Commons ???-is this why MPs expenses are transparent - we might see how much this is subsidised .

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on

Excellent news. All credit to Nottingham for blazing this trail.

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Will the last person to leave please turn out the lights?

But hang on, you're a self-confessed car-hater. So even if this idea was bad news for employers and employees alike, and even if it wasn't going to improve congestion, you'd still support it just because it punished people for using their cars. So the fact that you do support it is hardly a surprise, and in no way means that it's a good idea for anyone except spiteful, busybodying motorist-haters.

Anyway, despite your crowing you know really that this is a very scaled-down substitute for what the car-haters really want: you must be hopping mad about the fact that people don't want road pricing in Nottingham, Edinburgh, Manchester, Cambridge, west London or anywhere else in the UK. No doubt you'd like to force it on them anyway; after all, persecuting motorists is more important than upholding democracy (as well as reducing accidents and everything else really).

Your sole saving grace is that you admit to being anti-car. Weepej is anti-car as well, but for some reason (shame?) he won't admit it; perhaps you would be interested in persuading him to.

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Paul Smith: a legend.

"The freedom provided by the motor vehicle is not universally applauded, however: there are those who resent the loss of state control over individual choice that the car represents. Such people rarely admit their prejudices openly; instead, they make false or exaggerated claims about the adverse effects of road transport in order to justify calls for higher taxation or restrictions on mobility." (Conservative Way Forward: Stop The War Against Drivers)

You are cheering the imposition of price rises in everything for the sake of appearing "green". This measure is just an excuse to raise business taxes dressed up as something else and will have no discernable effect on car use. For the reasons given above, very few employers will be able or willing to pass this charge on to employees. Prices will be raised to compensate and thus it will all become a piece of pointless gesture politics.

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Malcolm W.
The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not represent the views of Safespeed.