Friday, March 14, 2008

How the "green budget" punishes the disabled

Have just been speaking to someone I know that is an above the knee amputee on one leg. As you can imagine this means that when he drives he needs to have an automatic. He drives a dieseal Zafira and will have to pay £210 in 2008/09 for it. Meanwhile the manual, with the same engine, but different emissions because of the difference in the gearbox, will pay £145.

If he decides to replace the car in 2010-11, he will be expected to pay for the first year, road tax of £425 for the auto compared to £250 for the manual. He doesn't want to buy an auto but he has to. So much for fairness and equality for the disabled huh? The green budget is really just another ordinary tax-hike budget, and the losers seems to be the very people that Labour claims to be on the side of.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

How come he isn't claiming the "disability exemption"on his road tax?

dizzy said...

Because that disability exemption is only available to people on disability living allowance or war pensionser mobility supplement as the link says?

dizzy said...

Just because he only has one leg doesn't mean he has to sit on his arse and not work you know anon.

dizzy said...

I have just been informed that having just one leg is not considered to be disabled enough. He would have to lose both.

Anonymous said...

Where's the hacksaw?

Comes to something when you have to eat your own limbs to survive in Browns Britain.

This is a typical smoke and mirrors crude tax raising budget. At a time when really we need tax concesions to get us over the recesion this is in itself incredible.

One day - one day - the penny will drop and EVERYONE will realise that when labour say one thing they mean or intend the exact opposite. I remain dumbfounded that anyone at all can possibly believe a single word the say.

Thatcher's Child said...

What if your friend was to buy / lease through Motobility?

Another option is to buy a Japanese Import - most if not all are Autos and being older than 2001, they are not going to have any serious tax costs like the silly emission or the showroom tax.

Where there is a will, there is an unintended consequence!

Anonymous said...

Looking at the motability site, you need to be in receipt of the mobility allowance. An single amputee is not "disabled" enough to qualify. The rules for Motability are exactly the same it looks like as for VED excemption:
Higher Rate Mobility Component (HRMC) of the Disability Living Allowance (DLA), or
War Pensioners' Mobility Supplement (WPMS).

So it looks like he is stuffed

James Ink said...

V, to be eligible for the Motability scheme requires you to be on the higher rate DLA or war pensioner mobility supplement too.

BenefitScroungingScum said...

I suggest a look at this post for an overview of the benefits system
http://benefitscroungingscum.blogspot.com/2008/03/no-special-treatment-practical-response.html

Dizzy's information is quite correct, generally speaking 'only' having one leg amputated doesn't give sufficient need for high rate mobility allowance without which one cannot use the Motability scheme or claim disability exemption on his road tax. According to the DWP that is. However, as DLA is non means tested he can perfectly legitimately claim and work, and in fact should do so. (running the risk like we all do of being turned down)

The budget will clobber disabled people as it's not just road tax but when increased fuel duty hits, in fact all higher costs tend to hit us first as we have no choice in many areas as Dizzy has illustrated.

Bendy Girl

JuliaM said...

I foresee a huge demand for pre-2001 automatic cars. At least second-hand car dealers will be benefitting from the budget.

Trust NuLab spivs to look after their own!

Anonymous said...

Whenever a politician is described as intelligent I want to cry.

These people are politicians - end of story. They have not a clue about the sort of thinking that even the most menial human beings in other walks of life have to do - you know, where what you do WORKS!

When the tossers were arguing about the difference betwen failed targets (which the Labour MP thought were worthy achievements) and mere aspirations (which he thought were pathetic) you have summed up the whole political class. They admit they accomplish nothing ( which they are unashamed of), but the manner in which they accomplished nothing is of tremendous importance.

Anonymous said...

There you go just ask your mate to chbop off his other leg and he'll be Ok, being ex service and having several friends that are now minus limbs I know the whole thing is another labour if you can help yourself we can fuck you exercise, best sit on your arse all day with a bad back and get the lot