Government in talks over tax on cyclists

Can't believe they are even considering this.

Am I not right in thinking that some ultra-low carbon cars are completely exempt from road tax, but yet they would still consider taxing cyclist – most of whom already pay car tax on the car(s) they own?

What about the saving to the NHS from reduced heart disease due to promotion of healthy living/excercise?

Some of the comments at the bottom of the article are hilarious.

Haha, I'd never pay and I highly doubt most riders would. How about taxing road runners and horses too?

stupid idea.

they've got a similar scheme in switzerland, but i forget how it works.

haha, I'd be applying to go on and off SORN's every few days.

this is madness, not to mention completely unenforcable. registration plates for bikes? they'd better have the SORN equivalent for off-road only….

As Patrick Harvie points out our council tax already covers roads and lighting, WTF should we have to pay for very low impact bikes?

**** the SG then, i'll just take my car everywheree then and get heart disease too, that'll show them!

Ha- who ever typed this is a complet co*k. Id like to see somke try to fit an immobiliser to my bike… 👿

'No, but listen, this is an interesting idea. If they tax bikes then they could make cyclists or bike owners take out compulsory insurance, which they might be able to tax as well. Even better, they could require that bluetooth enabled immobilisers are put on bikes so they could remotely clamp non-payers. And they could keep a compulsory resister of cycles and make them all have number plates, and then they could sell specially printed personalised number plates. And they could employ a special squad of mounted tax collectors, which could be used to hunt down non-payers, and the special security team could be used to crack down on any non-payment campaign. Since non-payers would probably also be disenchanted with the nationalists and with their plan to break up the country, then that would serve their purpose too!

Ir must be an exciting time to be a nationalist!!!

i'd happily pay for a bicycle road fun license if i never had to share a bit of tarmac with a car. I'd want to see a lot more cycling infrastructure and far better education/punishment of drivers.

Cycle paths are worse then roads! They are about 1 foot wide, covered in glass and full of slow cyclists. I'd prefer the road any day.

'd happily pay for a bicycle road fun license if i never had to share a bit of tarmac with a car. I'd want to see a lot more cycling infrastructure and far better education/punishment of driver –

that would never happen though. maybe if the taxes went on building cycle lanes with doubles, and berms?

Ohhh. It's just in Scotland, not real. It was all a dream, like in Dallas.

Ohhh. It's just in Scotland, not real. It was all a dream, like in Dallas.

Ah, the joys of self rule. The lunatics are taking over the asylum. 😆

Read the last line. Smoke and mirrors, piss and wind or as it should be refered to politics.

Normally in these sort conversations they'll be some smug Scot saddened that the poor englanders aren't free to cycle everywhere 🙂

Can't see it happening.

Re switzerland:
http://www.ch.ch/private/00081/00084/00134/00260/index.html?lang=en

It mentions 'tax sticker':
http://www.englishforum.ch/transportation-driving/7530-does-bicycle-need-licence.html

– but it looks like that's just for third party insurance purposes – and that 7 swiss francs (in 07) is about 4 quid.

Ian Munro – Member
Normally in these sort conversations they'll be some smug Scot saddened that the poor englanders aren't free to cycle everywhere

That's because we know that anything published in The Scotsman is likely to be be total BS and anti Scotland. It's really a unionist rag and publishes Little England propaganda for our favourite North Briton.

The Times is a far better paper – far more likely to be objective.

It's not so much the biking. When you are £175 billion in debt, then you have to look at taxing everything don't you?

But yeah, agree taxing bikes is daft.

the times objective?? wtf??

Read the last line of the article folks. This is just more made up "news" from what used to be Scotlands leading quality newspaper. Unfortunately, it has long since become an anti-SNP, pro-Labour rag which is reduced to inventing stories to satisfy an ever-decreasing readership.

mrmichaelwright – Member
i'd happily pay for a bicycle road fun license if i never had to share a bit of tarmac with a car. I'd want to see a lot more cycling infrastructure and far better education/punishment of drivers.

me too.