(But your 2nd user target audience is mini-cabbers, so how are they going to drive up the image?)

I'm not quite sure how to take that comment so will refrain for the time being!

I will say that my local dealer is more than happy I drive a Kia as he has sold at least 3 others on the strength of my 'recommendation' so any form of advertising is surely good?

Tell you what, lets not sell any used Superbs to the 'mini cab trade' & then let's see how many used diesels are stuck on Autotrader!

I'm not quite sure how to take that comment so will refrain for the time being!

I will say that my local dealer is more than happy I drive a Kia as he has sold at least 3 others on the strength of my 'recommendation' so any form of advertising is surely good?

Tell you what, lets not sell any used Superbs to the 'mini cab trade' & then let's see how many used diesels are stuck on Autotrader!

OK - so as a mini-cab driver, why don't you run a 5 series BMW or an E-class Merc diesel? In Germany you'd look twice at a taxi that wasn't a Merc or an Audi A6.

The fact is that in the UK you have black cabs and mini-cabs and mini-cabs will always have a poor-cousin reputation. You drive a Kia because it's roomy, cheap to run, it won't break down and it's dirt cheap to buy because it has no image. Just like a Skoda. SUK desperately want to improve the image of their brand and unfortunately no-one I know wants to be driving what the mini-cabbers drive. So until the mini-cabs get substantially better in the UK, a mini-cab is always going to be synoymous with non-aspirational vehicles. And if the second owners of Superb IIs are going to be mini-cab drivers, most of my colleagues will stick with their VWs and Audis.

Sorry if that offends you. You are not what you drive.

OK - so as a mini-cab driver, why don't you run a 5 series BMW or an E-class Merc diesel? In Germany you'd look twice at a taxi that wasn't a Merc or an Audi A6.

The fact is that in the UK you have black cabs and mini-cabs and mini-cabs will always have a poor-cousin reputation. You drive a Kia because it's roomy, cheap to run, it won't break down and it's dirt cheap to buy because it has no image. Just like a Skoda. SUK desperately want to improve the image of their brand and unfortunately no-one I know wants to be driving what the mini-cabbers drive. So until the mini-cabs get substantially better in the UK, a mini-cab is always going to be synoymous with non-aspirational vehicles. And if the second owners of Superb IIs are going to be mini-cab drivers, most of my colleagues will stick with their VWs and Audis.

Sorry if that offends you. You are not what you drive.

thats silly. i dont give a monkeys what the local cabs are - i dare say there is a mix of brands. certainly seena few passats. i actually think its clever to chose the same as the cabby . cabbies are not stupid - they need reliability, comfort, space and keen prices....exactly what i want in a car.

We have become a nation of big brother watching, bling wearing, footballers wife copying, X factor junkies who are more concerned with image that practicality !

:sofahide:

no offence to anyone on here !!

OK - so as a mini-cab driver, why don't you run a 5 series BMW or an E-class Merc diesel? In Germany you'd look twice at a taxi that wasn't a Merc or an Audi A6.

The fact is that in the UK you have black cabs and mini-cabs and mini-cabs will always have a poor-cousin reputation. You drive a Kia because it's roomy, cheap to run, it won't break down and it's dirt cheap to buy because it has no image. Just like a Skoda. SUK desperately want to improve the image of their brand and unfortunately no-one I know wants to be driving what the mini-cabbers drive. So until the mini-cabs get substantially better in the UK, a mini-cab is always going to be synoymous with non-aspirational vehicles. And if the second owners of Superb IIs are going to be mini-cab drivers, most of my colleagues will stick with their VWs and Audis.

Sorry if that offends you. You are not what you drive.

That's not true in the least, if cabby chooses a car, he then is able to give the public an honest opinion of it, also if he continues to use it it shows it's a car built to last, your colleagues who choose a Passat pay more for less, cramped up and plasticy inside, nice looker I admit but not what it pretends to be, as for A6's,BMW,Mercs we can't afford to buy or run them, the foreigners can because they are sub'd by their government's, and lets face it, why would we run a £25 car just to collect your £4 and have you spew over the leather.

Without wishing to fall out with you, you really shouldn't comment on something you don't know about, the average mini cab cost's around £10k pa to run, and that's just running a normal repper type car, devide that between £4 and add what you would consider a wage on top, then devide that by a fares per day ratio and you'll have your answer why a Skoda arrives to take you to the pub.

and when the skoda arrives you will get a much more comfortable ride than if a passat or vectra turns up (why oh why do Vx make their car seats like park benches ?) !

although i must admit the pug 406 makes a nice taxi (from a customers point of view)

That's not true in the least, if cabby chooses a car, he then is able to give the public an honest opinion of it, also if he continues to use it it shows it's a car built to last, your colleagues who choose a Passat pay more for less, cramped up and plasticy inside, nice looker I admit but not what it pretends to be, as for A6's,BMW,Mercs we can't afford to buy or run them, the foreigners can because they are sub'd by their government's, and lets face it, why would we run a £25 car just to collect your £4 and have you spew over the leather.[/Quote]

German and Dutch taxi drivers aren't subsidised, and neither are black cab drivers, and those easily cost as much as a decent diesel Mercedes. I would certainly say that every cabby I've ever met wanted to give me his opinion on everything, not just cars. And I've never thrown up in a taxi, and German and Dutch taxi 'specials' are vinyl seats, it's just that Mercedes don't know how to make proper leather that doesn't look like good vinyl. Better to buy vinyl than cloth I reckon.

Without wishing to fall out with you, you really shouldn't comment on something you don't know about, the average mini cab cost's around £10k pa to run, and that's just running a normal repper type car, devide that between £4 and add what you would consider a wage on top, then devide that by a fares per day ratio and you'll have your answer why a Skoda arrives to take you to the pub.

If I fell out with everyone I held a different opinion to, I'd be very lonely, and what makes you think that running a cab in the UK is different from running on in Germany or Holland, and that I know nothing about running cabs on the continent?

In Germany there are special sales centres for cabs where you buy the cab and finance the servicing directly with Mercedes and they make sure you make a living wage out of it as they even have business advisors who will explain the big 4 costs, vehicle, vehicle running costs incl. insurance and taxes, driver costs, fuel. And the economics of running a cab are nothing to do with the image of mini-cabs in the UK, that's down to the fact that black cabs were more tightly regulated by the authorities and black cabs are seen to be the classier option.

And the sad fact remains that my customers judge me and my company partly by what I drive. A Mercedes would indicate I'm making too much from them, and a Ford, Vauxhall or VW is quite acceptable.

German and Dutch taxi drivers aren't subsidised, and neither are black cab drivers, and those easily cost as much as a decent diesel Mercedes. I would certainly say that every cabby I've ever met wanted to give me his opinion on everything, not just cars. And I've never thrown up in a taxi, and German and Dutch taxi 'specials' are vinyl seats, it's just that Mercedes don't know how to make proper leather that doesn't look like good vinyl. Better to buy vinyl than cloth I reckon.

If I fell out with everyone I held a different opinion to, I'd be very lonely, and what makes you think that running a cab in the UK is different from running on in Germany or Holland, and that I know nothing about running cabs on the continent?

In Germany there are special sales centres for cabs where you buy the cab and finance the servicing directly with Mercedes and they make sure you make a living wage out of it as they even have business advisors who will explain the big 4 costs, vehicle, vehicle running costs incl. insurance and taxes, driver costs, fuel. And the economics of running a cab are nothing to do with the image of mini-cabs in the UK, that's down to the fact that black cabs were more tightly regulated by the authorities and black cabs are seen to be the classier option.

And the sad fact remains that my customers judge me and my company partly by what I drive. A Mercedes would indicate I'm making too much from them, and a Ford, Vauxhall or VW is quite acceptable.

I'm almost certain mainland europe cabbies get help, here we get nothing but bills, black cabs are fine if you run on London rates, but ask the 80 hours a week local one what he has to earn to keep what is a rubbish product on the road, i.e a plastic effort from Reliant or the LTi TX range which is made of a parts bin from the past and cost's an arm and a leg to buy and maintain, then the other option is the Eurocabs, these are converted vans from the Pug/Citroen/Fiat/Nissan ranges and none are really good enough for the job tbh, as you say ppl do judge by what you arrive in, but this has never bothered me and if I could afford a 5 series BMW I would run one, that's why I was considering the Phaeton a while back as I think the paying public deserves a comfortable ride for their money, but right now pound for pound the Superb is the best option for a licenced mini cab owner to get affordable equipment, and as for losing the image Skoda will never do it here because basically 75% of Brit's are ignorant and closed minded to the idea that Czech peasant's could actually build a quality car, I prefer it this way myself, let them pay the earth for something that's not as good as the Superb, if your a cabby now is the time to grab a bargain on an 08 2.0 DTi Superb 1 you won't regret it and there is nothing else to compare it with, mine has broken the VX hold on me so much that I'm likely to choose a Superb 2 next time rather than an Insignia because it offers so much of what I need in a car.

@ JCB, I'm afraid you are right with the back seat in the Vectra's that and the lack of legroom always ruins what is a good car from VX, and they do make good cars despite what some ppl say of them, Pug's are no good anymore, the 407 is a dog suffering from turbo failure amongst other things, my mate just shifted his for an Avensis estate.

I asked a Danish cab driver how they afford the Merc a while back and its to do with how the government makes them tax deductable, its not a direct subsidy but they make it advantageous to run something nice and reliable.

Incidently one the point of wether or not its economical to run brand or nearly new Merc E-Classes as a fleet of mini-cabs one my my local mini-cab firms runs only new or nearly new E-Classes, all the drivers are suited and booted and all have sat nav. They cost a few pounds more but not so you'd notice and I use them exclusively now, the local four star hotels use them exclusively, they look smart and are reliable.

The rest of the local firms run mixed fleets apart from one firm which ran a fleet of skodas...they got caught because they were moving the parts from one car to the next to get them past inspections !

I asked a Danish cab driver how they afford the Merc a while back and its to do with how the government makes them tax deductable, its not a direct subsidy but they make it advantageous to run something nice and reliable.[/Quote]

If you're a self-employed cabbie they're fully tax deductable in the UK too.

Incidently one the point of whether or not its economical to run brand or nearly new Merc E-Classes as a fleet of mini-cabs one my my local mini-cab firms runs only new or nearly new E-Classes, all the drivers are suited and booted and all have sat nav. They cost a few pounds more but not so you'd notice and I use them exclusively now, the local four star hotels use them exclusively, they look smart and are reliable.[/Quote]

Oh-oh - we're in trouble now.

The rest of the local firms run mixed fleets apart from one firm which ran a fleet of skodas...they got caught because they were moving the parts from one car to the next to get them past inspections !

Yep. REALLY in trouble.

This is a thread about a used car on Autotrader, a comment was made which took it off topic, would a mod please move the last few posts to a new thread entitled 'You are not what you drive' & I will then continue with my thoughts, apologies to the op if my initial reply has taken this post away from your topic.

PS: Just for the record I am NOT a mini cab driver, I am in fact a Licensed HACKNEY CARRIAGE proprietor.

I've responded to your PM, and can I compliment you on your well-argued points. If you want to start another thread entitled 'You are not what you drive' I'll joyously continue the conversation.

I'm almost certain mainland europe cabbies get help, here we get nothing but bills[/Quote]

Nope. no subsidies at all as far as I'm aware. Certainly not in Germany and Holland.

black cabs are fine if you run on London rates, but ask the 80 hours a week local one what he has to earn to keep what is a rubbish product on the road, i.e a plastic effort from Reliant or the LTi TX range which is made of a parts bin from the past and cost's an arm and a leg to buy and maintain, then the other option is the Eurocabs, these are converted vans from the Pug/Citroen/Fiat/Nissan ranges and none are really good enough for the job tbh, as you say ppl do judge by what you arrive in, but this has never bothered me and if I could afford a 5 series BMW I would run one, that's why I was considering the Phaeton a while back as I think the paying public deserves a comfortable ride for their money, but right now pound for pound the Superb is the best option for a licenced mini cab owner to get affordable equipment, and as for losing the image Skoda will never do it here because basically 75% of Brit's are ignorant and closed minded to the idea that Czech peasant's could actually build a quality car, I prefer it this way myself, let them pay the earth for something that's not as good as the Superb, if your a cabby now is the time to grab a bargain on an 08 2.0 DTi Superb 1 you won't regret it and there is nothing else to compare it with, mine has broken the VX hold on me so much that I'm likely to choose a Superb 2 next time rather than an Insignia because it offers so much of what I need in a car.

I never said the Superb isn't a good car. My point was that petrol Superbs have appalling residuals and that diesel ones only have better residuals because taxi drivers like them. My subsequent point about image wasn't interpreted as intended and although I believe I have point, until I can make my meaning clear, I'll leave it alone. And if I've offended anyone, I apologise profusely and utterly.

Nope. no subsidies at all as far as I'm aware. Certainly not in Germany and Holland.

I never said the Superb isn't a good car. My point was that petrol Superbs have appalling residuals and that diesel ones only have better residuals because taxi drivers like them. My subsequent point about image wasn't interpreted as intended and although I believe I have point, until I can make my meaning clear, I'll leave it alone. And if I've offended anyone, I apologise profusely and utterly.

We'll have to agree to disagree on the subs, it's Germany,Spain and a few others that I'm on about, I don't think Mercs are common as cabs in Holland and the French are normally patriotic and buy French cars to cab with, one thing's for sure, no cabby buys a £30k Merc to do a job that a £17k car will do, there's an old expression, they all take the same money, it doesn't earn any more if it cost's more, and unless fares are more in line with the costs in Germany they must be getting help somewhere, as for tax on purchase, it doesn't work like that, you get allowed deprecation and deductions on the interest you pay on the loan, neither of which mirror what the true costs are, and finally I think the petrol car is going to re-emerge soon, the fuel pricing is taking 85% of the diesels advantage right now, how different to when I 1st owned a derv, Unleaded £2 a gallon, Diesel £1.50, that's a £1.20 swing per gallon over 19 yrs.

as for tax on purchase, it doesn't work like that, you get allowed deprecation and deductions on the interest you pay on the loan

So if you can deduct depreciation (the difference between the purchase price and what you finally sell the vehicle for) and interest on a loan, and after a reasonable period you can write off the asset value of the vehicle ie. you depreciate 100% of the vehicle then what part isn't tax deductible?

And if you buy a VAT eligible car you can get that back too.

And you really mustn't compare an E-class that has been specified as a retail car by Mercedes UK that has loads of stuff on it you don't want as a taxi driver with a production-line cream cab that is produced specifically for the European taxi market. German cabs don't have alloy wheels or airbags everywhere. They have rubber mats rather than carpets and vinyl seats rather than cloth or leather. They aren't sold to the general public and as they're generally sold to owner-operators over a 10-year period, they are actually very cost-effective to operate.

I find it incredible that people persist in insisting that mainland Europeans, operating under almost exactly the same legislation as us, must somehow be subsidised if they have better facilities or make a higher profit than their UK equivalents. They don't. EU legislation wouldn't allow it and you can bet some Taxi Drivers' union in the UK would be taking the EU/government to court if that was the case.

So if you can deduct depreciation (the difference between the purchase price and what you finally sell the vehicle for) and interest on a loan, and after a reasonable period you can write off the asset value of the vehicle ie. you depreciate 100% of the vehicle then what part isn't tax deductible?

And if you buy a VAT eligible car you can get that back too.

And you really mustn't compare an E-class that has been specified as a retail car by Mercedes UK that has loads of stuff on it you don't want as a taxi driver with a production-line cream cab that is produced specifically for the European taxi market. German cabs don't have alloy wheels or airbags everywhere. They have rubber mats rather than carpets and vinyl seats rather than cloth or leather. They aren't sold to the general public and as they're generally sold to owner-operators over a 10-year period, they are actually very cost-effective to operate.

I find it incredible that people persist in insisting that mainland Europeans, operating under almost exactly the same legislation as us, must somehow be subsidised if they have better facilities or make a higher profit than their UK equivalents. They don't. EU legislation wouldn't allow it and you can bet some Taxi Drivers' union in the UK would be taking the EU/government to court if that was the case.

I wasn't saying that, I was pointing out that if I buy a £30k car I don't get £30k tax write off against it.

Puegeot used to do a taxi pack 505 featuring basic this and that and sweaty seats back in the 80's.

Taxi union there's a federation but I think you'll find SE ppl don't strike, and as for inline Europe just look at the cig prices to understand how inline Europe isn't.

Thanks for the PM, also appreciate the time taken to reply.

And if you buy a VAT eligible car you can get that back too.

How? I am not VAT registered & am not allowed to be as an owner driver with a turnover under the VAT threshold. There is no VAT on taxi fares - only on a service charge levied by a VAT registered company if the journey is taken on an account basis.

I'd be very interested to know how to reclaim the 17.5% I paid 13 months ago on my Kia!

My accountant depreciates my initial purchase cost by 50% in year 1, 20% (of the value at the end of year 1) in year2, a further 20% of it's value in year 3. I normally p/x for another new car at 3 years old with 120-140k, the value 'on book' is somewhere near its true value, have never written the value to the whole 100%.

Now to get back OT. Sat in the back of an 07 Passat tonight, yuk! Bloody great hump (transmission tunnel) that the punters will need hiking boots & crampons to climb over & the centre console goes so far back into the rear cabin it had been (literally) kicked to bits! Manual windows (S model) & not enough head room for me to sit upright without hitting the headlining, I'll stick with my cheap ol Korean tank with its flat floor & oodles of head/chest/leg room for now thanks!

Thanks for the PM, also appreciate the time taken to reply.

How? I am not VAT registered & am not allowed to be as an owner driver with a turnover under the VAT threshold. There is no VAT on taxi fares - only on a service charge levied by a VAT registered company if the journey is taken on an account basis.

I'd be very interested to know how to reclaim the 17.5% I paid 13 months ago on my Kia!

My accountant depreciates my initial purchase cost by 50% in year 1, 20% (of the value at the end of year 1) in year2, a further 20% of it's value in year 3. I normally p/x for another new car at 3 years old with 120-140k, the value 'on book' is somewhere near its true value, have never written the value to the whole 100%.

Now to get back OT. Sat in the back of an 07 Passat tonight, yuk! Bloody great hump (transmission tunnel) that the punters will need hiking boots & crampons to climb over & the centre console goes so far back into the rear cabin it had been (literally) kicked to bits! Manual windows (S model) & not enough head room for me to sit upright without hitting the headlining, I'll stick with my cheap ol Korean tank with its flat floor & oodles of head/chest/leg room for now thanks!

:rofl::rofl:

You tell him

How? I am not VAT registered & am not allowed to be as an owner driver with a turnover under the VAT threshold. There is no VAT on taxi fares - only on a service charge levied by a VAT registered company if the journey is taken on an account basis.

I'd be very interested to know how to reclaim the 17.5% I paid 13 months ago on my Kia![/Quote]

Anyone can register for VAT, the £64,000 turnover threshold is the point where you MUST register. As a taxi operator earning less than £150,000 taxable or £187,500 total income in any financial year you may join the fixed rate VAT repayment scheme whereby you levy VAT at (currently) 15% and repay 9% to the HMRC ie. you retain an extra 6% of all fares. As offering to carry people in a Taxi is a service, there is no reason why you cannot charge VAT on it. If you are cost controlled by your local council then simply drop your prices so that you comply with their cap. Simplistically, there is no reason why you can't do this. Your accountant will probably shake his head and tell you that yes, it's legal, but you're likely to get closely scrutinized by the HMRC if you do it. So what? If you're operating legally, and paying all your bills, then they can't touch you. They'll probably change the legislation next year, but so what?

My accountant depreciates my initial purchase cost by 50% in year 1, 20% (of the value at the end of year 1) in year2, a further 20% of it's value in year 3. I normally p/x for another new car at 3 years old with 120-140k, the value 'on book' is somewhere near its true value, have never written the value to the whole 100%.[/Quote]

No, but you have recovered the remaining value in the trade-in, so you have recovered 100% of what you paid for the car. You could deem that the car no longer had any value and write off 100% if you wanted to. You just choose not to.

Now to get back OT. Sat in the back of an 07 Passat tonight, yuk! Bloody great hump (transmission tunnel) that the punters will need hiking boots & crampons to climb over & the centre console goes so far back into the rear cabin it had been (literally) kicked to bits! Manual windows (S model) & not enough head room for me to sit upright without hitting the headlining, I'll stick with my cheap ol Korean tank with its flat floor & oodles of head/chest/leg room for now thanks!

I didn't realise that the topic was slagging off my choice of company vehicle as a taxi cab? The Passat isn't designed to be a taxi. I never suggested that you buy a Passat as a taxi, simply that the only people who were holding up the price of used diesel Superbs were taxi drivers.

I thought it was how cheaply (or not) you could buy a nearly new Superb?

And if you want to compare your Kia with the equivalent VW, shouldn't you be comparing your Kia with a Touran rather than a Passat? Or the Passat with a Magentis? Now there's a car with an image issue:P

64k - £150k - £187k :rofl::rofl: we're single man operators.

Can't write off a car completely, tax man won't accept it unless the car has been a total loss, and even then he still knows we will have claimed an insurance payout on it or not claimed and it would be worthless which is still a loss of banknotes to the owner.

Magentis is a saloon car so it is a Passat alternative, I won't slag the Passat cos I do like them, but as said it's scrunched up room only in the back of one.

Edited 9 December, 200817 yr by Supurbia

I wasn't saying that, I was pointing out that if I buy a £30k car I don't get £30k tax write off against it.

If you earn enough income to tax, then you very definitely can.

Taxi union there's a federation but I think you'll find SE ppl don't strike

Being in a union isn't necessarily about striking. It's actually about grouping together for mutual benefit. If, as you erroneously continue to allege, a taxi driver subsidy in other EU countries, then a taxi drivers union could argue for a level playing field.

and as for inline Europe just look at the cig prices to understand how inline Europe isn't.

Yes, but you're not allowed to smoke in your cab now, so that subsidy doesn't matter anymore. And the subsidized booze they get isn't likely to help your cause either.

If there was such a subsidy, believe me, I have a relative who would know about it.

64k - £150k - £187k :rofl::rofl: we're single man operators.[/Quote]

I'm glad you think your (apparently) low income is funny. I reckon I could make you more money from the way you're posting. Seriously. It really doesn't sound like you are exploiting all the possible avenues for tax reduction. And grouping together in a limited company of 3 or 4 shareholders could be even more tax efficient.

Can't write off a car completely, tax man won't accept it unless the car has been a total loss, and even then he still knows we will have claimed an insurance payout on it or not claimed and it would be worthless which is still a loss of banknotes to the owner.[/Quote]

We could argue this to death but fundamentally you're never going to accept that you're not at a serious financial disadvantage to a foreign cabby, so I'm going to leave it. But it's interesting that we've come from "you can't offset it against tax" to "you can't offset all of it against tax".

Magentis is a saloon car so it is a Passat alternative, I won't slag the Passat cos I do like them, but as said it's scrunched up room only in the back of one.

It's not as big in the back as a Superb I, but very few cars are. It's massive compared to something like a 407 and I really can't think of many cars in it's class that are bigger. But as I never have anyone in the back it doesn't really worry me.

Come on folks: it's been said once before - this is talking about the price of a used car, NOT tax breaks for taxi drivers... :nono:

Start a new thread, or I close this one down!

I'm going to ask that this one gets moved to general discussion.

As a taxi operator earning less than £150,000 taxable or £187,500 total income in any financial year you may join the fixed rate VAT repayment scheme whereby you levy VAT at (currently) 15% and repay 9% to the HMRC ie. you retain an extra 6% of all fares. As offering to carry people in a Taxi is a service, there is no reason why you cannot charge VAT on it. If you are cost controlled by your local council then simply drop your prices so that you comply with their cap.

Not legal down here in Brighton! The MAXIMUM fare is set by the council & the meter is set by them too, the only way I could do what you suggest is to lose the VAT element of the metered fare then reclaim the VAT on my purchases which is significantly less, trust me I've looked at this many times in the past!

You could deem that the car no longer had any value and write off 100% if you wanted to.

Sorry but again that's incorrect. There is no way you can write down the value to 100% of its purchase price, even if you scrap it is has a % of value.

I didn't realise that the topic was slagging off my choice of company vehicle as a taxi cab?

It wasn't, I referred to the OT (original topic) not your input at a later date, apologies if that was misunderstood!

Come on folks: it's been said once before - this is talking about the price of a used car, NOT tax breaks for taxi drivers... :nono: Start a new thread, or I close this one down!

I asked for that some while ago!

***

A couple of extra comments:

The Touran is not allowed in Brighton as it does not conform to the councils regulations.

There are several unions if you wish to join them, I prefer not to & will stay that way thanks.

No benefit to forming a small owner driver association, the red tape is horrendous enough as a single operator let alone that of a multiple. HMRC have closed the 'loophole' which allowed individual owner drivers to be limited companies, the barstewards did it just after I found out how it was working to great effect for 2 of my colleagues! Close friend sold his 100+ car (all owner drivers not company owned) business a few years ago to go back to an owner driver, reckons it's the best move he ever made!

Edited 10 December, 200817 yr by Supacabby

Not legal down here in Brighton! The MAXIMUM fare is set by the council & the meter is set by them too, the only way I could do what you suggest is to lose the VAT element of the metered fare then reclaim the VAT on my purchases which is significantly less, trust me I've looked at this many times in the past!

If you're on the fixed rate scheme you just repay 9% on 17.5%/8% on 15% levied. I've checked this out with my HMRC tax advisor.

Sorry but again that's incorrect. There is no way you can write down the value to 100% of its purchase price, even if you scrap it is has a % of value.

What about if you have to pay to have it disposed of;)

The Touran is not allowed in Brighton as it does not conform to the councils regulations.

Brighton's a bit limiting isn't it? You can't do this, you can't do that. You can't be VAT registered. I'd move personally. Apparently Europe pays taxi drivers to drive Mercedes!

There are several unions if you wish to join them, I prefer not to & will stay that way thanks.

I wasn't saying that you should, all I said was that if there was a Taxi Drivers Union it's unlikely they would stand for these supposed european subsidies that you believe in so strongly.

No benefit to forming a small owner driver association, the red tape is horrendous enough as a single operator let alone that of a multiple. HMRC have closed the 'loophole' which allowed individual owner drivers to be limited companies, the barstewards did it just after I found out how it was working to great effect for 2 of my colleagues! Close friend sold his 100+ car (all owner drivers not company owned) business a few years ago to go back to an owner driver, reckons it's the best move he ever made!

Again, I spoke to an HMRC advisor yesterday, asked him about 3 or 4 drivers forming a VAT registered private limited company with 2 or 3 cars and pooling income while covering time off for the 'spare' driver (who could be a normally non-working spouse, as long as (s)he's a qualified taxi driver). Income taken as a lower threshold minimum and then the remaining post tax earnings split as dividends between all the shareholders. That's 100% IR35 compliant and much more tax efficient than what you're doing.

If my posts so far haven't convinced that I'm not a BSer then PLEASE contact HMRC yourself and ask them if what I'm writing here is OK. You have nothing to lose, and at least 10-15% additional income to gain.

Edited 10 December, 200817 yr by wja96

IR35 complaint yes, but you'd have to be very careful with section 660(a) from a year so's time. Man we're off topic!