Plumbers ‘save £35 a week’ C-charge claim

TRADESMEN will not be worse off because of the congestion charge, supporters claim.

The Yes Campaign has hit back at suggestions that small businesses will be badly affected and claim that they will, in fact. be £35 a week better off.

A referendum on the £3 billion Transport Innovation Fund (TIF) bid — which will involve charging people to drive in and out of central Manchester at peak times — will be held in December.

Supporters say that if the TIF scheme is approved, it will cause a revolution, including trams through the centre of Oldham, more frequent buses and new cycle lanes.

But it will also mean introducing the congestion charge which many see as yet another extra tax on motorists.

Concerns that people like plumbers will not be able to carry out business by tram, and will face hefty charges when driving to jobs, have been dismissed by the Yes Campaign as a stunt that failed to understand the benefits clearer roads will bring to tradesmen and small business. They say that self-employed workers will be able to offset the congestion charge against tax.

A note from the Revenue and Customs, covering the introduction of a charge in London, states: “Where someone who is self-employed and has incurred the congestion charge as part of their normal business travelling expenses it will generally be tax deductible.”

And for a charge incurred by employers, it adds: “Tax relief is only available for congestion charges incurred in business travel.”

A Yes Campaign spokesman said: “Nobody in their right mind thinks that Joe the Plumber should travel to work by tram.

“Plumbers will able to claim back 40 per cent of a congestion charge in tax, so the very most they could pay is £3 a day.

“With clearer roads, a plumber who charges an average of £50 an hour and fits in one extra hour of work will be able to pay the charge and still be £35 a week better off.”