The mayor of London, Ken Livingston, is angry with the US ambassador because the US embassy staff have racked up over $250k worth of driving fees in central London and have refused to pay it. The mayor has decided to pick on the US, even though 55 other consulates and embassies, including that of Germany, also refuse to pay.
The reason that the US and other nations refuse to pay is because they consider the fee to be a tax, which they are exempt from.
Article 34 of The 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations says, "a diplomatic agent shall be exempt from all dues and taxes, personal or real, national, regional or municipal." It includes exceptions, such as "charges levied for specific services rendered" and "registration, court or record fees, mortgage dues and stamp duty, with respect to immovable property,”
In 2003, London implemented a congestion charge for cars that enter central London. It was designed to reduce the traffic in that part of London. It apparently has worked very well, better than expected.
Personally, I think it is really chickenshit that we refuse the pay the fee simply because we don't HAVE to. This fee is not targeted for diplomates or us. It is applied to all cars in the area. We in the United States get upset because diplomates, especially UN diplomates driving in Manhattan, routinely rack up enormous parking fees, refuse to pay them, are exempt from prosecution for ignoring them.
The Golden Rule applies here. Do on to others as you wish others to do on to you. So please, Condi Rice. As our Secretary of State, please do the right thing and pay our fair share of the use of the roads of London.
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Condi... do the right thing.
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1 comment:
The problem is that, now that Red Ken has singled out the U.S. alone, it's become very personal. It would have been much easier for the U.S. to back down graciously had Ken called on everyone equally to pay the fee.
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