Petition Government against bike road tax rise

[RedStormV]

Nicked from FaceBook

The government are proposing to increase bike / scooter tax for 125cc in 2009 from £15 to £33.

More details from petition creator
Changes to the law mean cars emitting less than 100g of CO2 per kilometre travelled would be exempt from paying Vehicle Excise Duty (road tax), while motorcycles are still required to pay.

This was outlined by your Chancellor Alistair Darling in his first budget last week, under the auspices of rewarding motorists for driving ‘green’ vehicles.

Despite Darling’s aim, the rate of road tax paid by motorcyclists is set to double in 2009, with the annual charge for a typical 125cc commuter bike set to grow from £15 per year at present, to £33 in 2009.

This makes a nonsense of the revised rates of vehicle excise duty, as motorcycles tend to emit less CO2 and use less fuel than cars, with the average CO2 output from motorcycles at 110g/km.

So why do those who ride greener two wheeled vehicles, use less road space and do not contribute to congestion get penalised whilst 4 wheel motorist whose vehicles use under 100g/km are exempt from road tax .... makes a mockery of your plans

Sign the petition here:

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/motorcycle-tax/#detail

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[sirch345]

I've already signed this one recently.

If you don't sign it don't complain about an increase

Despite Darling’s aim, the rate of road tax paid by motorcyclists is set to double in 2009, with the annual charge for a typical 125cc commuter bike set to grow from £15 per year at present, to £33 in 2009.

This just shows how out of touch they really are with reality. It wouldn't matter which party was in, as has been proved before By putting up road tax by 120% for a typical 125cc commuter bike just proves that. The majority of people who ride that type of bike does so for one reason, that reason being they NEED cheap transport and/or wish to avoid the traffic congestion. They should be encouraging this type of transport, especially with the low amount of pollution they produce.

It's no wonder people get their backs up when things suddenly rise in price by over 100%. It makes you wonder how they have these figures in their heads in the first place, when the average Joe Public are more familiar with 2% or 3% as in pay rise and that was before the recession, now we're lucky if we still have a job Perhaps 100% plus is what they're more used to when they award themselves a rise in whatever.

OK rant over. I hope I didn't come across as being too harsh.

Chris.

[leighx]

Fecking ridiculous!!!! :mad2

Agree with Timbo on this one. It could deter some people from riding altogether!

Let us not forget that we are a menace on the roads and should be punished accordingly and every chance they can get, they will! (sarcasm ends here!)

/signed

[Jbrebel]

I've already signed this one recently.

If you don't sign it don't complain about an increase

Ditto Chris!

Already signed, rip off Britain! Again!

[Twinpotter]

I'll happily take the 'rant baton' (from Chris - hi chap) with a dose of harsh reality and in the process, provide you with an iron-clad reminder as to why everyone (not just bikers) must sign this petition.

Like a caper not too dissimilar to the plot in Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (great plate tag Slot!), the Gov't are desperate enough to clobber you and me without hesitation to pay central banks while we wonder where all our services have gone. At least with fortnightly bin collections, we'll have more time to pick our next meal and for that we may be learn in time to be eternally grateful.

UK.plc is technically broke (having sold off everything of value), is monsterly overdrawn and the Govt is increasingly desperate. Having pumped the banks with our dough yet still having no say in the Business as Usual model, it needs cash sharpish. Why? At least for the moment, its to help pay banskters bonuses and to service the extraordinary primary at private central banks (2009, a staggering £35 billion a year!). Throw in the demographic time bomb and a pensions black hole bigger than Calcutta, the 25 year plus PFI charade, the second homes, it's far from rosy. With your hard-earned pound 25% down in value in 12 months and impending "Quantitative Easing" commencing the countdown to skyrocketing inflation, whoever you blame for the mess, it's not likely you but you'll pay anyway, right?

As you can see, the dash for cash went spectacularly wrong. It overtook all reason and went well above the limit yet they didn't even pay for the enormous speeding ticket nor get points or a ban!

You on the other hand (I assume) didn't take any such ridiculous gamble and loose obscene amounts of cash/assets at the Financial & Ministerial Engineering Craps Table so why must you pay the debt owed? Because taxation of the population provides the solution; that's the way it is always done.

And therein lies the reason to sign!

With 14,000+ signatures to date, it hit me. I've seen petitions with far greater numbers thrown out so in reality, it won't make the slightest bit of difference unless every road user signs it (and likely crashing the Wordpress install and server in the process). Perhaps with numbers in the millions they'll back down for the (relatively) little amount it will bring in, but I'm not holding my breath. Like I said, they're desperate.

Is a Storm brewing? If we do face a summer of mass demonstration and riots to the tune of UB40's One in Ten (back in the charts summer), I'll prefer a soundtrack more akin to my Storm's Pipes. Biking is about the last remaining true expression of freedom; and that freedom needs to be exercised from time to time. If it costs me, fine, but no more than is reasonably fair.

Rant over. If you got this far, well done and thanks for your time.

Now do something useful today and sign the petition!

[sirch345]

Nice post TP

Chris.

[Hankie]

Like Timbo said, and these petitions generally are just this Government's attempt to 'appear' open and approachable, it's political BS. They'll record your opinion, put your details on their 'trouble-maker' database, write that to a CD, then lose it... Still signed it though

[grimley59]

Did you see the response to the last petition to get rid of that insane 'speeding' chief constable Huges, or whatever his name is, complete baldrocks. I shall of course sign and await the usual response which amounts to 'f**k off'

[Stratman]

I agree, before you shoot me, BUT I would have thought that it costs more than £15 to administer, bit like the dog licence got scrapped when it was 7/6d.

I obeject to all road tax - I am fortunate to have 2 cars and 2 bikes (add em all up and you won't get to £10,000 worth) and I pay 4 x road tax but can only ride/drive one at a time and the rest sit on private property.

Oh how I love watching Road Wars or similar where some little Canute has no tax and insurance and still ends up paying less than me when he gets a fine.

Put it on petrol, you can't drive on an empty tank and if you only need a car for short journies you will pay less, which seems perfectly equitable to me!

[Hankie]

Put it on petrol, you can't drive on an empty tank and if you only need a car for short journies you will pay less, which seems perfectly equitable to me!

They already have, to the tune that you're paying up to £500/yr more for fuel than our european cousins in the form of the UK Fuel Tax. This tax is designed to rise faster than inflation so the discrepancy will increase year on year.

[Pete.L]

Strat said

Put it on petrol, you can't drive on an empty tank and if you only need a car for short journies you will pay less, which seems perfectly equitable to me!

Oh come on Strat!!!
That's way too sencible for a politician to accept. Where's the confusion, sneakiness and stealth in that?
You'll have to try harder :wink2

Pete.l

[Stratman]

Put it on petrol, you can't drive on an empty tank and if you only need a car for short journies you will pay less, which seems perfectly equitable to me!

They already have, to the tune that you're paying up to £500/yr more for fuel than our european cousins in the form of the UK Fuel Tax. This tax is designed to rise faster than inflation so the discrepancy will increase year on year.

Not actually the case anymore

http://www.auchancalais.com/shopping_centre.asp

Unleaded at £1.09 a litre. Noticed last year that the prices were similar, but the euro was still at about 75p to the £ then