Tuesday, Nov 17, 2009
No tax in UK????
Yahoo: Tax Haven-On-Thames: Toll Bridge Up For Sale
The Swinford Toll bridge in Oxfordshire was built 240 years ago and an old Act of Parliament rules that its owner can collect a toll from those crossing the river - without being subject to tax.
What's more, the bridge owner enjoys something of a monopoly as the Act also states that no other river crossing can be constructed for three miles in either direction.
Posted by mark @ 02:29 PM (638 views) Add Comment
8 Comments
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1. drewster said...
Nothing a little Land Value Tax couldn't take care of.
What about the M6 Toll? It too is privately owned. It isn't a relic of history - it was opened in 2003. No chance of building a competing road nearby either.
The Scottish government had the right idea when it took over the Skye bridge (and others?), removing the tolls entirely.
Privately funded infrastructure - another great New Labour idea........
2. rumble said...
Privately funded infrastructure is as old as the hills, and libertarians are for it - find Walter Block.
3. drewster said...
Forgot to mention - relevance to HPC?
4. rumble said...
Damned if i care, i'm not the hpc police, i enjoy the icing. Anyway, it's all connected - the future of that bridge will affect a house price - remove toll for hgv... can argue all sorts of ideas...
5. mark wadsworth said...
What Drewster says.
And it's not a tax-free zone - if you have to pay a toll, then you have to pay a tax. All it means is that the taxes are collected privately rather than by 'the State'. All income from state-protected monopolies (in particular land, but there are other examples) is just privatised taxes.
So land taxes or ground rents are the one thing you can never avoid, it's just a question of whether private landlords can collect and keep them (leaving 'the State' to nick part of your income in tax instead) or whether 'the State' (as ultimate guarantor of land ownership) gets its retaliation in first, taxes land values and leaves incomes alone.
6. drewster said...
4. rumble said...
Damned if i care, i'm not the hpc police,
I'm the Louis Walsh of HPC, with my little rule book of dos and don'ts.
7. rumble said...
;) drewster - haven't turned on the tv for 7 weeks, so you'll understand I know he does the singalong but that's about it.
8. Imfedupnow said...
"Also there is no inheritance tax on the bridge and no stamp duty associated with it."
Don't miss the boat!
It's only a matter of time before inheritance tax and stamp duty are abolished for property and income tax raised to cover the shortfall.