How many more schemes are greedy local councils going to come up with to take more money of the businesses in there area? Well they’ve found a new one and it’s to charge them a fee, for each car parking space they provide for their employees.
Yes, I know, it sounds like a joke to think that if you own, or rent a piece of land, that you will be charged for allowing your employees to park on it, but believe me, its not a joke, its for real and the first “super greedy” council to have already applied for permission to do just that is Nottingham City Council
The initiative which is called “workplace parking levy” (WPL) and is planned to be up and running by 2010 (and that’s not far away). The proposals are that initially, that businesses will be charged £185 a year, for each and every car parking space they make available to their employees, but it’s also planned that this will rise to £350 a year, per slot by 2014.
Councils will call upon ALL businesses (you will like this) to register there workplace parking spaces with them and whilst its uncertain at what number of spaces the charge will begin to be implemented, certainly, I have read that 10 or more spaces is going to mean that each and every one will have to be paid for.
Its somewhat appropriate that Nottingham are the first council to go for this, as clearly they have a heritage of taking money off road users, remember “Robin Hood” and whilst poor old Robin Hood used to take the money from the rich and distribute it to the poor, Nottingham City Council, have stood this on its head and have decided to take money from the poor and stuff it in their own brimming coffers.
Geoff Hoon, The Secretary of State for Transport will make the final decision and we understand that is imminent (following discussions, I presume with Friar Tuck and the Sheriff of Nottingham) but fact is, this is another intolerable burden on businesses that are struggling to survive at all times, let alone in the difficult times we currently find ourselves and I find it incomprehensible that any council that’s even looked out of the windows of its ivory tower, could consider such a proposal, now or ever.
The AA is calling for the Secretary of State to chuck out Nottingham City Council’s application and to abolish the blueprint for this work tax nationally, whilst The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) says that if every eligible council adopted the WPL, then businesses will be left with huge costs amounting to £3.4 billion
A survey taken by Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce, has shown huge opposition to Nottingham’s proposals with more than 95% of respondents believing that this tax will make Nottingham a less attractive place to do business, whilst 89% of employers who answered the survey, believe that the city council’s plans for such a tax will harm the city’s economy. The same survey reveals that 64% of respondents say they have never been asked for their views by the council, whilst 80% of businesses thought that the tax would make businesses less attractive to prospective employees. When asked about the impact on congestion, 78% said that they did not think the levy would ease congestion.
Clearly, it’s not certain yet, who will eventually pick up the tab if you park on your companies premises. The options are, if a business is doing well, perhaps they can absorb it, but anyway you look at it, it’s still all off the bottom line. Maybe businesses forced to pay in this way, will take it into consideration when employing staff and adjust the remunerations downwards accordingly, or perhaps they might even pass the charge on directly to their employees, who knows, but that makes you wonder that if your employer does not charge you, whether you will be charged by way of benefit in kind, as after all, you would be being given something free of charge that has a cost attached to it for your employer.
What ever the outcome of this, its pretty clear that just for coming up with this ludicrous taxation on businesses and employment that the lunatics truly are now in charge of the asylum, even for thinking of this idea. Just reflect on this. You can run a business, create local employment, pay business taxes for any profit you dare to make, but own or rent a piece of land and dare to allow your employees to park on it and some faceless bureaucrat is going to charge you for doing so.
All I can say is “stand and deliver” as clearly highway robbery isn’t dead.
