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£80 trick to avoid paying C-Charge

Motorists in London are avoiding the congestion tax by registering their cars as taxis. The £8 tax is imposed on any vehicle entering the city centre during peak times - except for cabs.

Transport for London’s Public Carriage Office is responsible for tracking 46,000 vehicles licensed as “for hire.” A driver with a clean record can obtain a license by taking a simple eyesight and 40-minute road test administered by the Driving Standards Agency. The test costs £62.50 and the license itself is renewed annually for £27.

A few trips to London make signing up as a cabbie a good deal for drivers of people carriers and luxury cars, for whom the tax rises to £25 per day in February 2008.

The Evening Standard reports that Transport for London began a tax avoidance investigation after it noticed taxi registrations for expensive vehicles such as the Porsche Cayenne, Aston Martin DB7, and Bentley Continental.

Jay Nagley, of cleangreencars.co.uk, said: “It’s an incredible wheeze. Stand by for more Jaguars and Rolls-Royces to be licensed as cabs. Just don’t count on one whisking you home.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .