Government exemption on parking levy

jellybeans · 21-01-2009 4:31pm #1

Ive just been told that I have to pay the 200 euro parking levy despite the fact that I work in what could be described as a Dublin City suberb and despite the fact that regardless of the fact that you may or may not actually get a parking spot. I dont mind doing my bit to help the country out of this mess but I do resent the government officials who are parking pretty much in the heart of the city and who have made themselves exempt!!!

what do you think?

oscarBravo · 21-01-2009 4:43pm

Moved from Political Theory, where it certainly doesn't belong. I debated whether to move it here or to Politics. If it's out of place here, bump it back to Politics.

Cookie_Monster · 21-01-2009 4:52pm

jellybeans wrote: »

Ive just been told that I have to pay the 200 euro parking levy despite the fact that I work in what could be described as a Dublin City suberb and despite the fact that regardless of the fact that you may or may not actually get a parking spot. I dont mind doing my bit to help the country out of this mess but I do resent the government officials who are parking pretty much in the heart of the city and who have made themselves exempt!!!

what do you think?

The usual reason, because they are corrupt, incompetant fools:rolleyes:.

And if they did have to pay it it would only come out of thier massive untracked expenses allowances anyway, which would just effectivly be one branch of the gov paying another and no net gain.

jellybeans · 21-01-2009 4:56pm

it's just leaving a very bad taste in my mouth. Im a public sector worker on the frontline and I most certainly get a wage cut or pay freeze, now asI said thats fine as I dont mind doing my bit to help the country get out of this mess but for God's sake. Dissapointed the Greens had no opinion on this. It's actually not the money I have a problem with as it doesn't cost that much overthe year but it's the cheek and nerve of their own exemption!!!!!!!!!!! infuriating

Colm R · 21-01-2009 4:57pm

I read in one of the Sunday papers that this is on hold for a little while until Revenue sort out the logistics. I'll try and find it for you.

jellybeans · 21-01-2009 5:00pm

cheers, Im actually emailing my local TD about this. First time i have evercontacted one. Has anyone ever before?

Colm R · 21-01-2009 5:01pm

Here we go

http://www.tribune.ie/news/home-news/article/2009/jan/18/revenue-parks-controversial-tax-on-driving-to-work/

ardmacha · 21-01-2009 6:42pm

but I do resent the government officials who are parking pretty much in the heart of the city and who have made themselves exempt!!!

What exemptions have been proposed?

Quint · 21-01-2009 6:58pm

I agree with this:

One businessman said: "Who is going to come out and count the number of days that the person parks? Some of the details of the scheme are a joke."

I thought one of the reasons for this tax was so the TD's could say "look, we have to pay this parking tax too", as many did after the budget. But having them exempt is a disgrace! Really bad PR, it's just 200 euro that they could have claimed on expenses anyway.
If it was €200 a year or public transport, i'd happily pay €200 a year.

I look forward to seeing (and laughing) at the final details of this one

invincibleirish · 21-01-2009 7:22pm

Classic joined up thinking, introduce a parking levy with a green tinge then watch as the public transport semi-states begin the scaling back of their services. Government? your having a laugh.

jellybeans · 21-01-2009 8:31pm

ye I dunno where there thinking is. I mean HELLO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :eek:

Carawaystick · 22-01-2009 12:14am

jellybeans wrote: »

Ive just been told that I have to pay the 200 euro parking levy despite the fact that I work in what could be described as a Dublin City suberb and despite the fact that regardless of the fact that you may or may not actually get a parking spot. I dont mind doing my bit to help the country out of this mess but I do resent the government officials who are parking pretty much in the heart of the city and who have made themselves exempt!!!

what do you think?

why not get a dear bike, get the tax exemption from the govt, and sell it to pay the parking tax? f them at their own game.

dereko1969 · 22-01-2009 3:36pm

what exemption are you talking about? virtually everyone has to pay. what public transport options do you have? do you really need to take the car or is it by choice? it's €4 a week so it's not exactly a major tax.

KevR · 22-01-2009 4:42pm

dereko1969 wrote: »

what exemption are you talking about? virtually everyone has to pay. what public transport options do you have? do you really need to take the car or is it by choice? it's €4 a week so it's not exactly a major tax.

For me personally, the price isn't the big issue. It's the fact that the government is taxing me to use a parking space that my employer paid to construct and allowed me to use for free. It's the principle of it all really.

Stark · 22-01-2009 5:21pm

Carawaystick wrote: »

why not get a dear bike, get the tax exemption from the govt, and sell it to pay the parking tax? f them at their own game.

I think you're charged based on the availability of space, rather than whether you use it or not.

Edit: Just re-read and get what you're saying now.

Carawaystick · 22-01-2009 5:21pm

dereko1969 wrote: »

what exemption are you talking about? virtually everyone has to pay. what public transport options do you have? do you really need to take the car or is it by choice? it's €4 a week so it's not exactly a major tax.

You can get tax relief on a bike worth up to a grand

crocro · 22-01-2009 5:32pm

KevR wrote: »

For me personally, the price isn't the big issue. It's the fact that the government is taxing me to use a parking space that my employer paid to construct and allowed me to use for free. It's the principle of it all really.

Are you opposed to benefit in kind tax? If your employer pays your rent and rents you a car and sets up an account for you at the supermarket, should those benefits be tax free?

prendy · 22-01-2009 5:47pm

crocro wrote: »

Are you opposed to benefit in kind tax? If your employer pays your rent and rents you a car and sets up an account for you at the supermarket, should those benefits be tax free?

hardly treating like with like there. and the OP s not opposed to the tax, re-read the post.

i dont think there is a point in taxing the Govt parking as its only going to be an expense and so paid by us the tax payer.

KevR · 23-01-2009 1:48am

crocro wrote: »

Are you opposed to benefit in kind tax? If your employer pays your rent and rents you a car and sets up an account for you at the supermarket, should those benefits be tax free?

Sorry, but I don't really think those things are at all comparable to the parking levy.

Also, surely when my employer was constructing the car park for my benefit they would have paid tax through constructions costs?! So it's hardly a tax free benefit.

GerardKeating · 23-01-2009 9:16am

KevR wrote: »

Sorry, but I don't really think those things are at all comparable to the parking levy.

Also, surely when my employer was constructing the car park for my benefit they would have paid tax through constructions costs?! So it's hardly a tax free benefit.

Just like when they buy company cars ???

crocro · 23-01-2009 11:19am

jellybeans wrote: »

Ive just been told that I have to pay the 200 euro parking levy despite the fact that I work in what could be described as a Dublin City suberb and despite the fact that regardless of the fact that you may or may not actually get a parking spot.

The designated areas for the parking levy have not yet been announced.

...I do resent the government officials who are parking pretty much in the heart of the city and who have made themselves exempt!!!

TDs are not exempt. State owned cars provided with garda drivers to ministers and the president are exempt.

It's a small number but it was a mistake to exempt them. Lead by example and all that.

Quint wrote:

just 200 euro that they could have claimed on expenses anyway

The legislation states that the levy may not be claimed on expenses.

It is starting to appear that this tax is too complicated to administer for the amount of revenue it will raise and too small to put people off driving to work.

If you were cynical you might think that it was purposely drafted in this way to be unworkable so as to protect the interests of the officials in revenue and finance.

Market rate for a city centre parking place is up to 1,800 a year. Most city centre workplace parking in Dublin is in the state sector. Much of it is leased. So a better approach to this problem might have been to simply stop leasing these car parks and tell the staff to sort themselves out. In this way the state would see an instant large cost saving and a change in commuting behaviour.

derry · 30-01-2009 5:57pm

€1800 ayear for the parking

assuming one parked there 45 weeks in a year 5 days a week that makes €8 a day

If you factor in other vairables like civil servants with paid sickies and doing 4 days a week work with flexitime then it could go to as high as €12 euros a day

Thats better than chosing 1800/365 which is ~€5 a day

It seems to me that using train or bus service solutions such as the state pays the travel costs about 4 euros a day on the bus on the days they actualy work would probaly be cheaper than paying the cost for these guys in the civil service to park thier cars .

Bet you the government could get a special block booking low cost rate for the government workers to go on the bus to work and save us tax payers money

In fact if we made a proper internet system we could get civil service to work from home and save that money.

Seeing as the civil servise would all be in bed all day using thier laptops to do the work maybe we should invest in special work beds for them so as to ensure they meet production targets like how many excuses they can manufactuer for the reason the laptop is broken and work cant be done

you see its easy to get joined up thinking think lateral and as long as you mention work and bed in the same sentence the unions and workers wont object to pissy issues like parking spaces when you dont got to get out of bed in the first place

Derry

dowlingm · 31-01-2009 11:15pm

Tax the space not the car FFS... The employer provides x number of spaces and is providing a notional BIK to the staff but if it's not reserved parking I could imagine someone challenging it legally on the grounds that the benefit was not received or only partially received.

What's next, personal BIK green tax for heating the office? Feck sake...

Taxing parking spaces on the other hand is simple. All non-residential offstreet parking requires a permit - whether it be a supermarket, multi-storey car park, railway station, church or office block. Municipal inspectors check the numbers of cars parked against the number permitted and levy additional fees for "unofficial" spots around the back or on the grass (Google Earth or aerial photography could be used rather than going onto someone's property).

On the other hand, employers who remove spaces but who pay towards transit passes for staff could get matching contributions from the fund the parking tax goes into.

Like a congestion charge, this tax notionally is a declining quantity if successful (i.e. spaces removed), but the mistake of congestion charging is to treat it as ongoing revenue, but rather to use it as "surge funding" which helps transit expansion leap ahead of demand, after which general taxation and transit revenue should then be sufficient to keep the nose in front.

Here in Toronto, I just got my parking permit tax bill in the post. $166 (including Goods and Services Tax) so that I can park my own fecking car on my own fecking property. Essentially, it's a tax on moving my car from one side of the pavement to the other (but removing a parking space from the street). Meanwhile, the lads raking it in from downtown car parks at 14-20 dollars/space/day pay nowt. :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

parsi · 01-02-2009 3:45pm

crocro wrote: »

If you were cynical you might think that it was purposely drafted in this way to be unworkable so as to protect the interests of the officials in revenue and finance.

Or you could think that it was put in as a Green plan despite objections which are now becoming proved right ?

"No Minister Gormley that won't work - it will cause chaos and be a nightmare to administer it" "Hush, I want it announced.." "Right so."

RobBrn · 02-02-2009 12:35pm

Colm R wrote: »

I read in one of the Sunday papers that this is on hold for a little while until Revenue sort out the logistics. I'll try and find it for you.

Which will be a copper fastened exemption.

thebman · 02-02-2009 1:32pm

Well since the ministers don't drive their cars then wouldn't their drivers have to pay the levy?

Government exemption on parking levy

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