Britannia Radio

Tax News - Last Updated Monday 5th October 2009 Monday 5th October 2009 London traffic to be halted by EU directive http://financialadvice.co.uk/news/11/tax/12244/London-traffic-to-be-halted-by-EU-directive.html As the EU becomes more central to UK and European law, Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, has revealed that some of London's busiest streets will be closed to traffic on "hot days". This is part of the London strategy to combat emissions and avoid substantial fines from the EU under a recent directive regarding air quality. It was revealed that a number of popular sites within London exceeded the EU limits on emissions on 100 days last year which if translated into proposed fines from the EU would mean substantial payments from the UK coffers. There will be all sorts of changes to vans, cars and other vehicles currently allowed into London and indeed some commercial vehicles may well be subject to a £100 daily fee. Despite the fact that Boris Johnson initially rejected earlier plans by Ken Livingstone, the former mayor of London, he appears to have done a U-turn and finally given in to these "crackpot" EU directives. Slowly but surely life is being strangled out of London traffic and London businesses which are becoming subject to higher and higher taxes, both direct and indirect. Any competitive edge which London has over other financial centres around the world is slowly being reduced in what many believe is a ploy so that the EU will eventually become the centre of the European financial markets.