http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/topstories/Paisley-claims-240-for-12mile.6677992.jp
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » General Edinburgh
Evening News strikes again
(14 posts)-
Posted 14 years ago #
-
So, the article leads with the statement
"Although the 73-year-old was not breaking council rules by claiming back mileage"
But then tries (and fails) to weave some sort of a scandal story around this because he did something as shocking as use a bike to get to work, thus saving the taxpayer the further £2.40 it would have cost if he had claimed to use his car.
So clearly the EEN's problem is not with councillors claiming on expenses for journeys, it is claiming for using a bike and for that he deserved plastering over the front page of their rag as if he had been hanging around outside primary schools in a long coat and dark glasses.
It's refreshing for once to see that the vast majority of comments are supporting the Councillor.
Posted 14 years ago # -
"Had he claimed the rate every working day for a year, then his journeys would cost the taxpayer almost £550"
£550? for a whole year of travel? Cheap as chips surely?
Posted 14 years ago # -
The interesting thing about this story is that Inland Revenue allows cyclists to claim 20 pence per mile only between work engagements (i.e. between the office and work related visits), not from home to work. So unless he has an office at his home, according to Inland Revenue he should not be able to claim. However it would not surprise me if Edinburgh council had a completely different set of rules.
Cyclists are allowed to claim legitimate work mileage on their bikes now due to the Kyoto agreement and trying to cut down on greenhouse gases.
So the story is both wrong and right, depending on whether he goes by Inland Revenue's rules and/or considers his home a place of work... Otherwise everyone could claim tax for their commute to work!
Interested to hear your comments on this one...
Posted 14 years ago # -
Interesting that 14 of them claimed exactly £540.
Posted 14 years ago # -
Nothing in the (non)article says he has a bus pass (as in LB 'season ticket'), although he'd be eligible for one simply by being over 60. But if he's discharging his responsibilities as a councillor, he is entitled to reimbursement of expenses, so he could be choosing to use his time more efficiently by cycling instead of driving, to say nothing of the health benefits of which he is well aware.
Should local authorities mandate that all over-60 councillors travel by bus, just because they all could?
I'm a bit mystified, like tracyg, why he can claim cycle mileage for commuting. If he was commuting to a destination further than his usual, then excess fare allowance might be appropriate; but if he normally worked from home then 12 miles at 20ppm would indeed be legitimate.
Posted 14 years ago # -
Do you think we can get the rest of them out of their car and on to bikes, so cutting the cost of mileage claims? That would really be a good story...
Posted 14 years ago # -
Fact is he cycled once and the rest of the time he is claiming twice the amount to drive the exact same journey and the EEN has no problem with this.
Posted 14 years ago # -
The interesting thing about this story is that Inland Revenue allows cyclists to claim 20 pence per mile only between work engagements (i.e. between the office and work related visits), not from home to work. So unless he has an office at his home, according to Inland Revenue he should not be able to claim. However it would not surprise me if Edinburgh council had a completely different set of rules.
That's not quite correct. You're correct about mileage being claimable for work engagements, not for travel between home and work. But the 20p per mile is the maximum that can be claimed tax-free. Employers are allowed to pay more than 20p per mile but anything paid above that will be taxed.Posted 14 years ago # -
It's somewhat amusing that the act of a solitary councillor, cycling once, is so extreme that it takes the whole front page of the local chipwrapper
Posted 14 years ago # -
Still, it is pretty extreme, even for the EEN.
Posted 14 years ago # -
They don't even seem to know what their story is about. The fact he cycles? The fact he's claiming mileage for journeys to and from work? The fact the council pays bike mileage at all?
Posted 14 years ago # -
The evening news knows what its doing, how much money do you think they have made from all the advertising hits the commenters make?
Posted 14 years ago # -
The 'scandal' is that he was the only one to claim a cycle allowance - and that was for ONE journey.
That means that he is maybe one of the few who actually knows what cycling is like in the city - how bike lanes work or don't work etc.
If 15% of journeys are to be made by bike we'll need a lot more than one councillor to cycle one day a year!
Posted 14 years ago #
Reply
You must log in to post.
posts
