BBC.
A group of local councils in England is formally asking the government for new powers to tax large supermarkets.Derby City Council is of course a Labour run council and probably haven't run across a tax they didn't like.
BBC News has learned that Derby City Council has called for the right to bring in a levy as a "modest" effort to ensure supermarket spending "re-circulates" in local communities.
Some 19 other local authorities back a so-called "Tesco tax" on big retailers, which could raise up to £400m a year.
The government said additional taxes on supermarkets would push up food prices.
A similar tax already operates in Northern Ireland and Scotland.
Others hinting that they'd like the tax are Oxford (minority Labour run), Brighton and Hove (Watermelon Green run), Preston (Labour run), Southwark (Labour run)and Sefton (Labour run) councils. Basically it's all socialist driven and sounds good till you realise just who will suffer and trust me it won't be the likes of Tesco, it will be those who shop there. As with other taxes proposed by socialists, expect the money as ever to go into a bottomless pit to pay for things that they think the public want such as translation services, diversity officers, out of pocket expenses, community support (so long as you aren't white and working) and of course attempts to prevent anyone enjoying themselves in an unapproved manner.
Expect calls for such taxes to grow, particularly as the government are looking at just what it is Councils actually are spending money on (and telling them to stop it)
Labour Councils are notorious spendthrifts on unessential services such as translation and equality services, they'd rather keep them going rather than collect the rubbish on the streets.
Let's hope the government has more sense than to give way on this.
4 annotations:
I can't afford food now!
Best I start keeping a few chickens and a cow in the back garden and growing my own veg, or we will be starving to death soon.
Much of what the Council get, is from Central Government, So I would imagine that if Central Government can reduce what it gives out, and gets to spend the 'savings' on things it likes (HS2), then this will get the go ahead.
I long pray for the day when, ALL taxation is imposed by Local Governments. Those that vote for the, "All is FREE" Socialists, are going to have to stump up some serious cash, or change their voting habits of a lifetime.
And if the above ever happen, I suggest buying shares in popcorn. It's going to to one hell of a viewing watching the free-loaders face the reality of Socialism on their account.
Like zero and absolute zero there is bollocks and absolute bollocks!
Derby CC - the spokesman was an asian. No tax on all the asian run shops that put locals out of business?
I would rather have no standards than double.
Laurie -
This all amounts to an attempt at more rent-seeking. There are a couple of reasons why supermarkets out-compete local shops; firstly it is easier and quicker and cheaper, both in money paid terms and in time used on this chore to use a supermarket than it is to traipse around a disparate collection of shops.
Secondly supermarkets have in the main realised that their customers travel by car, and thus need somewhere to part this car, but only stay about an hour. Thus any parking restrictions only kick in after a couple of hours, giving the average shopper ample time to park, shop and go. Supermarkets treat parking as a necessary cost to their business.
Councils by contrast treat car parking as a profit centre, and charge heinous fees backed up by horrible penalties. People are supposed then to use the frankly awful and extremely inconvenient bus services instead of their own vehicles; this inconveniences shoppers and drives them instead to out-of-town shopping centres which once again offer free parking to shoppers.
Post a Comment