Archive for December, 2010
‘Parking space tax’ axed
Monday, December 20th, 2010
The Daily Telegraph disclosed last year that councils were developing plans to charge supermarkets and shopping centres a levy of around £600 per parking space.
The scheme, which was under consideration by officials, would have raised millions of pounds to help councils cope with increasing demand on their services.
However, Mr Pickles has now put a stop to the plans, which were also seen as an attack on out of town supermarkets.
Instead new powers will be given to councils to introduce local tax cuts through reductions in business rates.
Some supermarkets were planning to pass on this new parking levy directly to customers, by listing it as an explicit tax on till receipts.
Others shops would have passed it through higher prices or as a car park charge.
Mr Pickles described it as “a backdoor parking tax on the weekly shop”.
He said: “With the price of groceries rising, it would be wrong to introduce a new parking stealth tax on hard-working households.
“As someone who was brought up in a corner shop, I know how every penny makes a difference when families pay for their weekly shop.”
The Localism Bill, published last week, contains new powers to let councils set local discounts on business rates, provided that they are funded locally.
So local shops that source their produce locally could be entitled to the discounts.
He added: “Accessible parking is vital to the lifeblood of the local firms.
“Hiking parking charges and turning motorists into a cash cow is a false economy – as it drives shoppers away.
“Instead, we should be looking at local tax cuts. Our plans to allow councils to retain their business rate income will also mean councils start having a stake in growing their local economy and support all types of shop, big and small.”
The plans, which were backed by Exeter and Lewes councils, were still officially under consideration by the officials. The Local Government Association said it might roll out the new tax across the country.
It said: “The proposal is for Government to give Exeter City Council (and possibly councils across the UK) the powers to retain revenues from locally imposed non-domestic rates on store car parking spaces.”
Under plans in Exeter, retailers would have been taxed less if they could prove that they had sourced “at least 30 per cent of goods from within 30 miles” of the town.
Any cash raised would be “ring-fenced for local priorities that promote sustainable initiatives in the Exeter area”.
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