The latest barmy idea from our wonderful leaders

[youngmafbog]

http://news.sky.com/s...motorways-and-a-roads

Just what planet are these people on?

So what happens when you go on holiday for 1one week, do you have to pay the years heavy tax?

What if you live on a trunk road?

What if you live near one, prepare for your road to be clogged.

With other more pressing problems around, they have very seriously lost their way in my opinion.

It will be a man with a red flag next, and you will have to pay him +VAT no doubt.

[webbo3]

another point youngmafgog is what happens if there are diversions due to an accident or road works and you cant avoid an A road, and what about all the foreign drivers that come here will they pay?.

If this happens then prices will go up in shops to pay for the extra cost of transportation.


Dave.

[jake-the-peg]

Here's a hint

When a news story starts "According to reports" turn the page and ignore it

[friedgreentomato]

I believe this is based on an idea from the wonderful Labour party

[Old_Geezer]

This sort of nonsense has been suggested many times in the past. So far governments have not been daft enough to push it forward. But it will keep cropping up because those with an agenda can never take, "No", for an answer; and have more tenacity than normal folk. Paying a road fund license rather than having tolls (except where they sneak them in such as some bridges etc.) is one of the few decisions the UK has got right so far, so it must be on many an agenda to be destroyed at some point.

[Gromit]

Such a move is politically toxic and no Government will introduce it. The idea is to raise money.

It is not entirely daft.
Why should an aged driver who may only drive 200miles a year pay the same road tax as a sales rep who might drive 120,000 miles a year?

[KerrAvon]

The interesting is that it would actually cost money and introduce more congestion. I cannot believe that anyone in their right mind has seriously suggested this.

[sandyRoe]

Isn't this similar to the crazy idea somebody had to charge motorists for driving in parts of central London?

[KerrAvon]

"It is not entirely daft.
Why should an aged driver who may only drive 200miles a year pay the same road tax as a sales rep who might drive 120,000 miles a year? "

Then lets put whatever it is on fuel and abolish car tax altogether.

[KerrAvon]

that is actually a very good idea Sandy, the main problem is that it is still too cheap.

[lady-janine]

daft as a brush comes to mind.

[plowter]

It's what happens when you've got an opposition with no policies.
Please, please, please Santa.
I don't care what you get me - but no more Tories.
Thanks

[pdq1]

Motorists have always been a cash cow for the treasury. A better idea than toll roads would be to penalise lone drivers without passengers. I believe they have a scheme in Leeds where the lone driver is penalised by not allowing them in certain lanes.

[pdq1]

Whether its still in existence I don't know

http://www.localgov.c...d=news.detail&id=4614

[Old_Geezer]

The reason an aged driver driving 200 miles a year might pay the same as a sales rep who drives 120,000 miles a year would be that not everything is costed on a pay-for-use basis. Anything that is considered a benefit to society as a whole is a candidate for having the costs paid for from the public kitty, into which we pay regardless as to whether we use the facility.

In some cases, such as this, the money collected is meant to be hypothecated rather than put into the general kitty in order that the reason for collection is clear. But of course once in existence it's just too tempting to collect as much as the taxed will tolerate, and use the excess elsewhere. And then the trick is to convince everyone that it was never meant to cover the costs the original name indicated.

[Old_Geezer]

It is very similar Sandy. Get folk to pay for the building and maintenance of the roads, then get the suckers to pay again using some flimsy excuse. Not only will they stand for it, some will actually support such abuse. Probably started in earnest when someone had the idea of installing meters to get people to pay for parking on the road they had paid for in the first place. The human race is a strange beast.

[Old_Geezer]

A better idea than toll roads would be to penalise lone drivers without passengers.

"From those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away."

Great idea. Find those who have the misfortune not to be able to share costs with another and take away the facilities they have paid for for they are as nothing and worthless and fit only to mistreat for our own perverted amusement . Find those who are lucky enough to be able to share costs and give them free rein. Is there no end to this 'kick a guy when down' mentality ?

[BRIGHT SPARK]

Whatever the outcome...the brits will moan,groan ........and pay up!!

[cazzz1975]

what are the alternatives bright spark?

[BRIGHT SPARK]

cazz...in France they put up the price of bread and people boycott bread...in Britain they put up the price of bread and people moan and buy 2 loaves.
If I need to explain the alternatives to you then I know i'm wasting my time.