A tax too far
It's neither leisure, nor luxury, when you're not able to walk properly, but thanks to EU regulations, now motorised disability scooters are to be subject to £300 import tax on top of their initial £2000 cost.Obviously another measure designed to help us all into work.
6 comments:
How the hell do they expect you to pay the £300 let alone the two grand? Ridiculous.
Shee-it! BG I just did a quick mental conversion pounds into aussie dollars
and nearly choked on my coffee..
The car I am driving cost less than 3oo pounds....
bloody politicians and beaurocrats just don't have a clue!!!
cheers Kim
Christ, that's harsh! I guess people are supposed to prostitute themselves now to come up with the extra cash, huh?
Hiya! Came to you by way of spleenal's blog -- been enjoying your funny posts...and your not-so-funny posts, too...your health situation, the cat-loss, etc. We put one of our beloved babies to sleep in August (liver cancer) -- it sucks, but it is the right and loving thing to do. I feel for ya. =^..^=
I dont believe it!!!
Well, people have been getting upset about them being available from Argos.
"Anyone can buy them!" they say, "even if all that ails them is laziness!" (true, but then anyone can buy a wheelchair or a bath hoist or a kettle-tipper too.)
"Surely disabled people get given them free anyway!" (no, they won't believe you if you try and tell them otherwise.)
Followed by the unavoidable "I think most people using those scooters don't need them at all. I keep seeing them parked outside shops and if no one's sitting on them, the owner must have WALKED somewhere!" (comments about the inaccessibility of some shops, or about how some people, with crutches or a stick, can manage to slowly wobble a few metres into a shop, but not half a mile or more walking around a busy shopping mall, will be met with derision.)
Vi, I don't think they've thought about it. High rate mobility allowance is supposed to cover both a car and any scooter or powerwheelchair an individual needs, but if you use the Motability scheme then most vehicles take the full allowance, so effectively you're expected to pay for these things privately. Out of the benefits they're trying to kick us all off I should imagine!
Kim, absolutely, they don't have the faintest idea!
Casdok, it just becomes more worrying
Butterfly, anecdotally I've known of at least one disabled woman who's done exactly that, and through her known of many more. Thank you for your lovely comments, I'm enjoying your blog too x
Mary, I know! And they won't believe you don't get given a car for free as well as motability allowance to put fuel in it and the spare cash buy your wheelchair.
The general public in fairness are taught about disability through govt campaigns to kick us scroungers off benefit and charitable appeals, who can blame people for being confused! I'm one of those who can walk (a bit, alright a very little bit) but I can't use crutches or a manual wheelchair cos my upper body isn't strong enough and would just dislocate. In fairness generally it's the professionals I come into contact with who are just as lacking in understanding as the public. SOmething major has to change as so many people are living with conditions who simply wouldn't have done previously.
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