Elected representative in ignorant cycling related rant shocker

[deptfordmarmoset]

Right. He's right on ONE point. Bicycles are cheaper to run and maintain than cars, so yeah, the 40 odd p per mile is comparatively worth 'more' to us than to a car driver.

That said, why the hell should you penalise someone for choosing to cycle rather than drive? I can bet any money all of these employees have cars too, and so if they take away this allowance all that will happen is they will drive instead, so it won't save them any money, just clog up the roads a little more!

As for a '100 pound bike’ just shows how out of touch he is. That only just cover my pedals you moron!

This schemes so good I'm going to suggest it's taken up at my work, where you do get a mileage allowance if you are asked to make a trip beyond your normal commute, but my work only pays for cars... personally I the the police and many other business shoukd be encouraging more environmentally friendly and healthier means of travelling!

I'm surprised the police don't allow cycle expenses. HMRC allow 20p per mile, I did some work for Capita recently (census stuff) and they allowed the same. Even more recently I did jury service and even they allowed a measly 9p per mile. 45p per mile is good though, just think how it could contribute to easing road congestion for elected representatives' motoring expenses...

 

[semislickstick]

Right. He's right on ONE point. Bicycles are cheaper to run and maintain than cars, so yeah, the 40 odd p per mile is comparatively worth 'more' to us than to a car driver.

That said, why the hell should you penalise someone for choosing to cycle rather than drive? I can bet any money all of these employees have cars too, and so if they take away this allowance all that will happen is they will drive instead, so it won't save them any money, just clog up the roads a little more!

As for a '100 pound bike’ just shows how out of touch he is. That only just cover my pedals you moron!

This schemes so good I'm going to suggest it's taken up at my work, where you do get a mileage allowance if you are asked to make a trip beyond your normal commute, but my work only pays for cars... personally I the the police and many other business shoukd be encouraging more environmentally friendly and healthier means of travelling!

Its cyclist-ism! Threaten to take it to the European court of human rights!...or something. If you walk to work you should get free doughnuts too!

Do employers get tax breaks incentives to encourage greener transport?

 

[400bhp]

And WE pay these cretins to arse about work in councils.

 

[Chutzpah]

This schemes so good I'm going to suggest it's taken up at my work, where you do get a mileage allowance if you are asked to make a trip beyond your normal commute, but my work only pays for cars... personally I the the police and many other business shoukd be encouraging more environmentally friendly and healthier means of travelling!

As deptfordmarmoset says, you can claim 20p per mile under HMRC rules. You may just find that your bosses/finance team have never really been asked about it, so don't mention it.

It's good news even if you do more than 10,000 miles per year, as your allowance doesn't drop like car drivers: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/rates/travel.htm

 

[Piemaster]

I'll have to send that to my boss. Company only pays 40p/mile for the car.

And 'a car can carry 2 people' yes it can. Or even more. But I'd be surprised if the ones they are paying milage for carry any more than the driver regularly.

Is there a bigger cycle allowance for a tandem?

 

[mr_cellophane]

They would be taxed on 25p per mile then.

How much depreciation is there on a £100 car ?

 

[CopperCyclist]

As deptfordmarmoset says, you can claim 20p per mile under HMRC rules. You may just find that your bosses/finance team have never really been asked about it, so don't mention it.

It's good news even if you do more than 10,000 miles per year, as your allowance doesn't drop like car drivers: http://www.hmrc.gov....ates/travel.htm[/quote]

I'll chase it up I think and find out, for interests sake more than anything else. We only get to claim for anything past the normal commute - I.e. training courses etc - so it's not often. It may actually convince me to tackle a thirty to forty mile commute next time I need a Taser refresher though!

 

[BrumJim]

And WE pay these cretins to arse about work in councils.

IIRC, councillors are voluntary.

 

[growingvegetables]

IIRC, councillors are voluntary.

And their expense claims?

 

[Bicycle]

In the Civil Service it was (from memory):

10p/mile for bicycle.
27p/mile for car where practical public-transport alternative existed.
40p/mile for car where no practical alternative existed.

That seemed about right to me. I used all three at various times. I always felt a little odd claiming for bike miles, but did it nonetheless.

The example in the article seems slightly weighted towards bicycle use, but if the political will is there it makes some sense.

I'm surprised the same rate offered for car use was chosen, but it is a brave step.

In days gone by I commuted 4,000+ miles a year by bicycle and 10,000 by car. The bike cost almost nothing to run and the car cost a lot.

Of course that was my own money, not claimed. When claiming 40p/mile for car use, I always more than covered the cost of running my car.

Similarly, at 10p/mile I always more than covered the cost of running my bicycle.

There is an agenda at work in the decision to give 45p/mile for bicycles. It may even be a good thing.

 

[subaqua]

In the Civil Service it was (from memory):

10p/mile for bicycle.
27p/mile for car where practical public-transport alternative existed.
40p/mile for car where no practical alternative existed.

That seemed about right to me. I used all three at various times. I always felt a little odd claiming for bike miles, but did it nonetheless.

The example in the article seems slightly weighted towards bicycle use, but if the political will is there it makes some sense.

I'm surprised the same rate offered for car use was chosen, but it is a brave step.

In days gone by I commuted 4,000+ miles a year by bicycle and 10,000 by car. The bike cost almost nothing to run and the car cost a lot.

Of course that was my own money, not claimed. When claiming 40p/mile for car use, I always more than covered the cost of running my car.

Similarly, at 10p/mile I always more than covered the cost of running my bicycle.

There is an agenda at work in the decision to give 45p/mile for bicycles. It may even be a good thing.

the extra tax responsibility for the 25p per mile that HMRC say is a benefit wipes that out .

20p per mile is the current limit you can receive as an expense any more and its taxed as a benefit.

 

[Chutzpah]

the extra tax responsibility for the 25p per mile that HMRC say is a benefit wipes that out .

20p per mile is the current limit you can receive as an expense any more and its taxed as a benefit.

That's true, but I can't see it affecting the tax you pay that much, especially assuming that most people aren't going to be claiming that many miles. Even with the tax "hit" you'll still benefit.

I haven't done the maths to prove this mind, just gut instinct from having done this sort of thing before in a previous job

Of course, every person's tax situation differs but in most cases I can't see you losing out.

 

[benb]

the extra tax responsibility for the 25p per mile that HMRC say is a benefit wipes that out .

20p per mile is the current limit you can receive as an expense any more and its taxed as a benefit.

It wouldn't wipte it out, you'd just end up with about 35p a mile instead of 45p.

 

[Arjimlad]

Councillors get paid I think about £12,000 per annum and if they take on committee chair/roles then that can increase. This councillor bloke is clearly a numpty !

 

[subaqua]

It wouldn't wipte it out, you'd just end up with about 35p a mile instead of 45p.

dependent on your tax situation of course. what needs to happen is that HMRC change the rules to favour green trandsport such as bikes , but thats a whole new thread