TRAM: British and Australian (American usually streetcar also trolley) noun [C] An electric vehicle that transports people, usually in cities, and goes along metal tracks in the road. (Taken from the Cambridge English Dictionary)
News...October 2007...News...October 2007...News...October 2007...News
This Page was last updated Sunday 14th October 2007
All the news carried on these pages is done so in good faith and the source is always quoted, normally with hyperlinks. If you have a correction to give us on a news story or have any additional news that can be added do not hestiate to email us . We are grateful for those people who have given us permission to use their images and news on this page.
To return to the current News Index click here (If you have accessed this page by using the News Archive please use the back button on your browser).
BUSINESSES FEAR OVER POSSIBLE TAX FOR METROLINK
Manchester Metrolink – Sunday 14th October 2007
Following the announcement from Chancellor Alistair Darling that the government are pressing ahead with their plans to let councils levy new supplementary business rates of up to 2p in the pound, there are businesses in Manchester who are fearful they may be taxed for the Metrolink extensions.
This tax – known as SBRs – would go straight to the Council and would not be going back to Whitehall as normal business rates do. This could generate up to £40 million a year in the Greater Manchester area – and this would be enough to ensure the full expansion of Metrolink would be able to go ahead.
Dr Nigel Waddington, principle economic advisor to the Greater Manchester Chamber, said: “No business wants to pay more tax, but in the past our members have told us that they are not opposed, in principle, to the introduction of a supplementary business rate. One of the criticisms of the current rating system is that businesses see no relation between what they pay and what they get in return. By introducing a `visible spend' element, a supplementary rating system would promote positive engagement between the business community and their local authority. However, if the proposed new system is to have the support of the business community, it is essential that they are locked into the local government process. It is particularly important to ensure that those businesses that will pay the supplement are able to vote on how it is spent."
