New ‘Taxi Tax’ league desk reveals the place UK cab customers shall be hit most | Politics | News | EUROtoday

A marketing campaign to reverse plans for a pricey ‘Taxi Tax’ has revealed new findings exhibiting two areas in England are set to be hit the toughest.

The deliberate levy might see passengers’ fares rocket by 20 p.c VAT throughout England and Wales because of latest laws by the Government.

Campaigners have already warned that those that use cabs, together with the aged, disabled and susceptible, shall be unfairly penalised by the deliberate levy.

They warn that the typical value improve may very well be as excessive as £200 a 12 months for normal cab customers, and have known as on Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to aspect with the seven in 10 Britons opposing the change.

Now new information reveals that two areas specifically are essentially the most susceptible to the tax hike.

Stop the Taxi Tax has warned that the South West and East Midlands are set to really feel the pinch most, primarily based on evaluation of native earnings, public transport journey instances and the proportion of susceptible passengers.

In the South West, travelling to a neighborhood city centre takes 36 minutes, the longest journey outing of all English areas.

In Devon, the typical journey time is a whopping 58 minutes to entry key city-centre providers.

The lack of public transport choices within the area additionally signifies that aged residents usually tend to require door-to-door transport within the type of taxis, and within the South West almost one in 4 residents are over the age of 65.

Meanwhile within the East Midlands, residents are susceptible attributable to their lower-than-average earnings.

Workers take dwelling simply £617 per week within the area, beneath the nationwide common of £652, that means a 20 p.c hike in taxi fares would disproportionately have an effect on locals.

Similarly, one in 5 East Midlands residents are outdated age pensioners, that means a minimize to accessible and reasonably priced transport will harm extra.

Conversely, the South East – the place Jeremy Hunt is an MP – shall be shielded from the influence of the tax attributable to earnings there being the second highest within the nation after London.

Responding to the findings, Mansfield MP Ben Bradley demanded the Chancellor step in and defend his constituents from the pending hit.

He warned: “Our party has rightly put levelling up at the heart of our political agenda since 2019. Introducing a taxi tax now would clobber the elderly and vulnerable across the country, but particularly those outside the South East”.

“As an East Midlands MP, I am calling on the Chancellor to step in and take urgent action to protect my constituents, and millions in the region as a whole.”

In Bristol, Green Party councillor James Crawford joined the cross-party marketing campaign, saying the including VAT to taxi journeys is “the last thing that’s needed”.

“These findings from the Stop the Taxi Tax campaign reveal the weaknesses in the South West’s transport accessibility in areas such as Bristol. When increasing numbers of people are struggling with the cost of living, adding VAT to taxi journeys is the last thing that’s needed.

“This city and this region experience major issues with public transport, and many people have to use taxis to plug in the gaps. VAT is already one of the most regressive taxes, and any increase will undoubtedly be passed onto passengers as the margin for journeys is so low in the South West.”

“Regional and rural transport has always fallen to the wayside, exacerbating the isolation felt by many as they are increasingly unable to travel. Taxis are the South West’s transport lifeline––they must be protected from this unfair hike in fares.”