Office car parking stealth tax warning
Town Hall bosses will be "very tempted" to bring in crippling new powers to charge small businesses for their staff car parks, a Lancashire business leader has warned.
Len Collinson, chairman of Private Sector Partners which represents more than 110,000 businesses, said that the workplace parking levy – which would hit firms with more than 10 private parking spaces with a 350 charge – could be devastating.
He said the charges, which are being piloted in Nottingham next year, coupled with new powers given to allow local authorities to add a 2p in the pound levy on business rates would hit firms at the wrong time.
The 74-year-old, who is a visiting professor at the University of Central Lancashire, warned that many authorities saw businesses as "the goose with the golden egg".
Mr Collinson said: "A lot of companies have had bad times with local authorities and I can imagine many of them will be slightly nervous about all this power they now have.
"There is a need for consultation with the private sector if they want to do any of these things, but does that mean joint decision-making or just paying lip service to business?
"I think we could be in a situation where local councils are competing with each other to make themselves more attractive to business, whether that is offering to pay the 2p rate or whatever."
Lancashire County Council, Preston Council and South Ribble Council have all said they had "no plans at the current time" to introduce parking levies, which have been attacked as a stealth tax.
Frank McKenna, the former ounty council deputy leader and now chairman of Downtown Preston in Business, said it would "campaign hard" against any steps to introduce any further levy on businesses.
Babs Murphy, chief executive of the North and Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, said: "This levy is purely a means to generate more funds for councils at the expense of local companies and their ability to compete.
"The Government must recognise the financial burden businesses are already under and rule out any possibility of councils taking up the scheme."
Last month, traders voted in favour of a 1% hike in annual business rates as part of the Business Improvement District which will come into force next April.
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Weather for Preston
Wednesday 23 May 2012
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