Pacers to be replaced by old London Underground trains?
 

"NY" wrote:
"Recliner" wrote in message
...
Paul Corfield wrote:
On Wed, 18 Feb 2015 16:43:05 +0000 (UTC), Recliner
wrote:

BevanPrice wrote:
On 18/02/2015 08:57, Recliner wrote:
It is all too easy for some affluent traffic manager, sat in her/his
plush office, or chauffeur driven Rolls, to claim "they can carry more
passengers", neglecting to mention that more of you will have less
comfortable journeys.

I don't think any TfL managers have chauffeur-driven Royces, and I don't
suppose many have more modest company cars either. But they're well aware
that Amersham is in Herts, well outside Greater London, and so isn't a high
priority. There aren't any votes for the London mayor in Amersham and
Chesham.

Company cars in LT / TfL were scrapped many years ago. In fact just at
the time I reached a grade when I was entitled to have one! It was a
very sensible move so my nose wasn't out of joint as a result of the
policy change.

These days, perk company cars aren't much of a benefit, now that they don't
have the tax advantages they once had.

The problem with company cars was that you were often told what car you
would get - you had no choice in the matter. The company that my dad
worked for was apparently unusual in that you could have any car with a
list price up to that of a specified grade of Cortina.

Some companies only allowed you to use the car for business use, which
meant you still had to buy a car of your own to use for shopping,
holidays and other private use, so it was no perk at all: the sole
benefit of it was that you didn't put as much mileage on your own car.

At management level, there was usually a lot more freedom. I had company
cars for 17 years before becoming self-employed, and in every case I got
them from new, built to my choice of spec and colour. For example, for my
second company car I chose an Alfa Romeo Guilietta (the old, rear-drive
version), hardly a stereotypical company car at the time (and the only one
in the company). And later, when my director colleagues mostly opted for
Jaguar XJs, I went for a big-engined BMW 5-Series (ironically, I now own a
Jaguar XJ, bought privately after I retired, as I prefer the aluminium
bodied Jags to current BMWs).

The limit was on the leasing cost, not the price, and the benefit was
untaxed back then. In every case, I was free to use it for private as well
as business purposes, and I never had to share it with colleagues. I don't
recall there being any mileage limits, either. Nowadays, with the benefit
in kind tax rules, people are much less likely to choose an expensive car.

Pacers to be replaced by old London Underground trains?
 

In message
-septemb
er.org, Recliner writes
In every case, I was free to use it for private as well as business
purposes, and I never had to share it with colleagues. I don't recall
there being any mileage limits, either.

One firm I worked for, the MD used to complain that as soon as an
employee had worked their way up the tree sufficiently to qualify for a
company car, the first thing they did was move house 50 miles away where
property was cheaper, and proceed to wear out the company car at a rate
of knots.
--
Roland Perry

Pacers to be replaced by old London Underground trains?
 

Roland Perry wrote:
In message -septemb
er.org, Recliner writes
In every case, I was free to use it for private as well as business
purposes, and I never had to share it with colleagues. I don't recall
there being any mileage limits, either.

One firm I worked for, the MD used to complain that as soon as an
employee had worked their way up the tree sufficiently to qualify for a
company car, the first thing they did was move house 50 miles away where
property was cheaper, and proceed to wear out the company car at a rate of knots.

Company car leases probably have (high) mileage limits, which perk car
users would be unlikely to hit, but a sales person might.

Pacers to be replaced by old London Underground trains?
 

In message
-septemb
er.org, Recliner writes
In every case, I was free to use it for private as well as business
purposes, and I never had to share it with colleagues. I don't recall
there being any mileage limits, either.

One firm I worked for, the MD used to complain that as soon as an
employee had worked their way up the tree sufficiently to qualify for a
company car, the first thing they did was move house 50 miles away where
property was cheaper, and proceed to wear out the company car at a rate of knots.

Company car leases probably have (high) mileage limits, which perk car
users would be unlikely to hit, but a sales person might.

That firm used to buy its company cars outright. Staff turnover was high
enough that they didn't have a problem with replacing cars - most went
with the ex-employee. Until they started making people redundant, which
is a cruel thing to do at 5pm on a Friday and you ask for the car back
(some people say that the employee is entitled to keep such a car until
the end of their notice period, but that wasn't the custom and practice
at the time if the employee was asked to leave immediately).
--
Roland Perry

Pacers to be replaced by old London Underground trains?
 

On Thu, 19 Feb 2015 09:36:20 +0000 (UTC)
Recliner wrote:
The limit was on the leasing cost, not the price, and the benefit was
untaxed back then. In every case, I was free to use it for private as well
as business purposes, and I never had to share it with colleagues. I don't
recall there being any mileage limits, either. Nowadays, with the benefit
in kind tax rules, people are much less likely to choose an expensive car.

Isn't a way around the benefit in kind just to have pool cars and people can
use them as and when. Of course if one person happens to hold on to a particular
pool car, well...

--
Spud

Pacers to be replaced by old London Underground trains?
 

In message ,
d writes
The limit was on the leasing cost, not the price, and the benefit was
untaxed back then. In every case, I was free to use it for private as well
as business purposes, and I never had to share it with colleagues. I don't
recall there being any mileage limits, either. Nowadays, with the benefit
in kind tax rules, people are much less likely to choose an expensive car.

Isn't a way around the benefit in kind just to have pool cars and
people can use them as and when. Of course if one person happens to
hold on to a particular pool car, well...

It's too obvious a loophole, so no. (Based on rules about how such a
'pool car' is defined).
--
Roland Perry

Pacers to be replaced by old London Underground trains?
 

On Thu, 19 Feb 2015 11:45:57 +0000
Roland Perry wrote:
In message ,
writes
The limit was on the leasing cost, not the price, and the benefit was
untaxed back then. In every case, I was free to use it for private as well
as business purposes, and I never had to share it with colleagues. I don't
recall there being any mileage limits, either. Nowadays, with the benefit
in kind tax rules, people are much less likely to choose an expensive car.

Isn't a way around the benefit in kind just to have pool cars and
people can use them as and when. Of course if one person happens to
hold on to a particular pool car, well...

It's too obvious a loophole, so no. (Based on rules about how such a
'pool car' is defined).

Short of tailing someone I'm not sure how they'd prove it.

--
Spud

Pacers to be replaced by old London Underground trains?
 

In message ,
d writes
Isn't a way around the benefit in kind just to have pool cars and
people can use them as and when. Of course if one person happens to
hold on to a particular pool car, well...

It's too obvious a loophole, so no. (Based on rules about how such a
'pool car' is defined).

Short of tailing someone I'm not sure how they'd prove it.

It's not done on an individual infringement basis, rather than the
company having to prove their allocation policy meets the requirements.
--
Roland Perry

Pacers to be replaced by old London Underground trains?
 

On Thu, 19 Feb 2015 09:36:20 +0000 (UTC), Recliner
wrote:

"NY" wrote:
"Recliner" wrote in message
...
Paul Corfield wrote:
On Wed, 18 Feb 2015 16:43:05 +0000 (UTC), Recliner
wrote:

BevanPrice wrote:
On 18/02/2015 08:57, Recliner wrote:
It is all too easy for some affluent traffic manager, sat in her/his
plush office, or chauffeur driven Rolls, to claim "they can carry more
passengers", neglecting to mention that more of you will have less
comfortable journeys.

I don't think any TfL managers have chauffeur-driven Royces, and I don't
suppose many have more modest company cars either. But they're well aware
that Amersham is in Herts, well outside Greater London, and so isn't a high
priority. There aren't any votes for the London mayor in Amersham and
Chesham.

Company cars in LT / TfL were scrapped many years ago. In fact just at
the time I reached a grade when I was entitled to have one! It was a
very sensible move so my nose wasn't out of joint as a result of the
policy change.

These days, perk company cars aren't much of a benefit, now that they don't
have the tax advantages they once had.

The problem with company cars was that you were often told what car you
would get - you had no choice in the matter. The company that my dad
worked for was apparently unusual in that you could have any car with a
list price up to that of a specified grade of Cortina.

Some companies only allowed you to use the car for business use, which
meant you still had to buy a car of your own to use for shopping,
holidays and other private use, so it was no perk at all: the sole
benefit of it was that you didn't put as much mileage on your own car.

At management level, there was usually a lot more freedom. I had company
cars for 17 years before becoming self-employed, and in every case I got
them from new, built to my choice of spec and colour. For example, for my
second company car I chose an Alfa Romeo Guilietta (the old, rear-drive
version), hardly a stereotypical company car at the time (and the only one
in the company). And later, when my director colleagues mostly opted for
Jaguar XJs, I went for a big-engined BMW 5-Series (ironically, I now own a
Jaguar XJ, bought privately after I retired, as I prefer the aluminium
bodied Jags to current BMWs).

The limit was on the leasing cost, not the price, and the benefit was
untaxed back then. In every case, I was free to use it for private as well
as business purposes, and I never had to share it with colleagues. I don't
recall there being any mileage limits, either. Nowadays, with the benefit
in kind tax rules, people are much less likely to choose an expensive car.

When I was a computer field engineer, we all had company cars - it was
a requirement, not just a perk, because we needed to get to places
quickly and reliably.

Like yours, it was based on leasing cost - and the managers had the
most expensive and luxurious cars while we plebs who really needed
them had the lesser ones.

When I had one, it was tax-deductible, but most of us did so many
miles that was reduced (half AFAIR).

ISTR it was also lower on a car less than 1800cc.

Pacers to be replaced by old London Underground trains?
 

In message , Christopher A.
Lee writes
When I was a computer field engineer, we all had company cars - it was
a requirement, not just a perk, because we needed to get to places
quickly and reliably.

Like yours, it was based on leasing cost - and the managers had the
most expensive and luxurious cars while we plebs who really needed them
had the lesser ones.

When I had one, it was tax-deductible,

Do you mean the opposite - it was a charge on your personal tax.

but most of us did so many miles that was reduced (half AFAIR).

Above some threshold of business miles (?5k/yr perhaps) it was decided
that you really did need it to do your job. 100 miles less, and you
obviously didn't.

ISTR it was also lower on a car less than 1800cc.

There have been several schemes, many of which placed a greater envy-tax
upon drivers of higher-cc models than lower ones.
--
Roland Perry

Pacers to be replaced by old London Underground trains?
 

On Thu, 19 Feb 2015 20:59:00 +0000, Roland Perry
wrote:

In message , Christopher A.
Lee writes
When I was a computer field engineer, we all had company cars - it was
a requirement, not just a perk, because we needed to get to places
quickly and reliably.

Like yours, it was based on leasing cost - and the managers had the
most expensive and luxurious cars while we plebs who really needed them
had the lesser ones.

When I had one, it was tax-deductible,

Do you mean the opposite - it was a charge on your personal tax.

but most of us did so many miles that was reduced (half AFAIR).

Above some threshold of business miles (?5k/yr perhaps) it was decided
that you really did need it to do your job. 100 miles less, and you
obviously didn't.

I thought it was more than that - the last year before I was promoted
to the Silly Colne Valley HQ I did more than 40,000 miles across the
North of England. In three years I did something 110,000 miles. Out of
that, I suppose I did the average private mileage for somebody who
lived less than ten miles from the "official" place of work.

ISTR it was also lower on a car less than 1800cc.

There have been several schemes, many of which placed a greater envy-tax
upon drivers of higher-cc models than lower ones.

Ye

Pacers to be replaced by old London Underground trains?
 

In message , Christopher A.
Lee writes
When I was a computer field engineer, we all had company cars - it was
a requirement, not just a perk, because we needed to get to places
quickly and reliably.

Like yours, it was based on leasing cost - and the managers had the
most expensive and luxurious cars while we plebs who really needed them
had the lesser ones.

When I had one, it was tax-deductible,

Do you mean the opposite - it was a charge on your personal tax.

but most of us did so many miles that was reduced (half AFAIR).

Above some threshold of business miles (?5k/yr perhaps) it was decided
that you really did need it to do your job. 100 miles less, and you
obviously didn't.

I thought it was more than that

It looks like there were two break-points: scale charge increased by 50%
below 2,500 miles and decreased by 50% over 18,000 miles.

https://www.gov.uk/government/upload...chment_data/fi
le/328668/tc1.pdf

- the last year before I was promoted to the Silly Colne Valley HQ I
did more than 40,000 miles across the North of England. In three years
I did something 110,000 miles. Out of that, I suppose I did the average
private mileage for somebody who lived less than ten miles from the
"official" place of work.

The last company car I had (since then I've funded my own cars) spent
most of its life being driven the princely distance of about 200yds from
home to office every day. That was because I lived on a main road with
only 'off-peak' parking, and the company car park was locked at night.
So it had to shuttle backwards and forwards. About the only other
regular private mileage I did was a weekly trip to the supermarket.

--
Roland Perry