Roger wrote:
The message
from "Dave Plowman (News)" contains these words:

In article ,
:Jerry: wrote:
Care to run that by me again? You want to stop car use entirely?

No, link the tax they pay to the amount they *use* the vehicle and
thus the amount of pollution they cause - that means that the tax
should be on the fuel and not the *wish* to use the vehicle.

This would effect business users most and put up the cost of virtually
everything - including those goods bought by non car owners. Is that what
you want?

I am not sure whether you are arguing that VED is a good deal for low
mileage drivers on the basis that they would save because other costs
would be so much lower or whether you think that equity has no place in
taxation. If the later you are in tune with NuLabour who have gone out
of their way to penalise those with taxable incomes below £15000 pa (who
don't get tax credits) by abolishing the 10% band.

I've already proclaimed my attitude to tax: no tax but a consumption
tax. No tax on income, on savings, on capital,on deat or on ownership.
Only a tax on consumption, applied via duties and VAT.


And returned to the taxpayer to:-

(i) subsidise lower wage earners by offering a national pension to
anyone who is actually a provable citizen of this country.
(ii) free medical insurance, but privatise the NHS
(iii) re nationalise or at least subsidize the three crucial de facto
monopoly infrastructures - Railtrack,the National Grid and the Post
Office. Roads are already essentially nationalized.


That would encoiurage thrift, savings and capital accumulation, and
work, and discourage idleness, gross excessive consumption, and make
believe work as a substitute for production.

And remove a huge burden of form filling from most small businesses and
totally from sole traders, unless they need to register for VAT.