Parking, the new tax for councils

A quarter of councils get more income from car parking and other charges than they do in council tax. According to the Audit Commission, the spending watchdog, overall charges have increased by 31 per cent in five years, with car parking and congestion charges seeing the biggest rise of 75 per cent in the same period.

The rise in charges has been attributed to local authorities trying to avoid cuts in services and the fact that they can charge as much as the marketplace will allow for parking.

It had been thought that many councils had decided against charging for services because they feared that this would be unpopular, however the report from the Audit Commission seems to suggest that the numbers may not be as high as first believed. Some councils only gained 2 per cent of their revenue from charges to services where others took in 67 per cent of their income from fees.

February 12^th 2008

• Gas-guzzlers Beaten Back by the Green Mobiles
• Texting at the wheel is increasing insurance costs
• CO2 Increased by Road Humps
• UK Vehicle Production Hits New Heights in 2007
• Insurance Voided by Carelessness
• Culture Clash
• Driver pays £61,000 to cyclist
• Uninsured Driver? The police have a crush on you