Labour never miss a trick in raising a buck, do they?
Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, is considering extending a £15 surcharge for victims to those handed on-the-spot fines and fixed penalties.
We have seen this scam before. Introduction of a stream of revenue for a defined purpose, only to change the rules once it has been embedded ... like National Insurance.
The victim surcharge was an idea that had a beginning and an end. Those who inflict damage on victims should be made to pay. Unfortunately, the victim bit looks like being airbrushed out of the equation. Not so much a charge, then, but a new tax (on top of the VAT already included in PCNs).
So, if this is enacted, drop a crisp packet resulting in a fine and you will be paying £51 to the local authority, but £24 directly to government (more when VAT goes back to 17.5%).
Sometimes one has to just step back and admire the sheer, corrupt nerve of the modern political class.
3 comments:
This is how it should work. You have a tin separated into sections - gas, electric, rent, water, food, holiday. You show this to the person who gives you money, and fairly divide the money they give you into these categories, and allocate it accordingly.
This is how they do it. They have a tin separated into sections - gas, electric, rent, water, food, holiday. They show this to the person who gives them money, (you), throw the tin away and lump it all together to pay off their debts.
I thought they already had it.
The first taxi driver to be fined for smoking in his own cab (while off duty!) had to pay a £15 victim surcharge on top of his fine.
Previously it was added for penalties punished through court, but now the plan is for every PCN to carry the surcharge even if paid at first demand.
Kerching
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