Car parking tax must be scrapped in Edinburgh says Lothian MSP Miles Briggs

A Tory politician has blasted the Workplace Parking Levy as an attack on motorists and has called for car parking tax to be scrapped.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Let us know what you think and join the conversation at the bottom of this article.

Lothian MSP Miles Brigg has described the decision to introduce tax on car parking spaces, which was passed in October 2019, as “ill-thought through”.

The decision gives local authorities the power to charge businesses up to £500 per parking space at their property.

The introduction of the Workplace Parking Levy was put on hold for one year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.The introduction of the Workplace Parking Levy was put on hold for one year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The introduction of the Workplace Parking Levy was put on hold for one year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The Labour and SNP run council in Edinburgh have said that they will introduce the new tax on workers, which would be put in place next year.

Scottish Conservative councillors at Edinburgh City Council have spoken out about the tax and said they will not vote for it when the motion is put before the council next financial year.

They have said that this new tax means that a person who lives in an adjacent local authority to Edinburgh, such as Midlothian, West Lothian, East Lothian or the Borders, could be charged an extra £500 by Edinburgh Council, despite having no vote in the council elections.

It is estimated that around 56,000 drivers travel into Edinburgh from surrounding local authorities to their place of employment and 54,000 from within Edinburgh travel to work. This means that approximately 110,000 workers will be impacted by the Workplace Parking Levy , many of whom have no choice but to drive to their place of work.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Businesses would have the option to absorb this additional cost themselves or pass the tax on to their employees.

Mr Briggs said: “This is an indiscriminate tax which will have a huge impacts on businesses and workers who have already suffered enough with lockdowns and restrictions over the last two years.

“Many people have no choice but to drive to their place of work and an extra £500 per year is a huge amount of money for people to have to find in their budget.

“Hard working families will be hit the hardest by this ill thought through additional tax, which will impact some families twice to the tune of £1,000 per year.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Scottish Conservative Edinburgh councillors will ensure that this tax is scrapped in Edinburgh if you give them your vote in the 2022 council elections.”

Edinburgh Council have been contacted for comment.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.