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PRINTEU Aims To Class Mobility Scooters In The Same Category As A Racing Car
ELIZABETH FINN CARE LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN AGAINST TAX ON MOBILITY SCOOTERS
Grant-giving charity Elizabeth Finn Care, along with The Mobility Bureau, are appealing for common sense this week, as the EU are set to make law a reclassification Regulation, which will see the European Union’s Customs Code Committee classify a mobility scooter in the same league as a Formula 1 racing car.
The move means that EU member states will have to impose a 10% import tax on the mobility scooters, a tax that many businesses will have to pass on to disabled consumers, who are amongst the poorest in society.
Professor Stephen Hawking, said, “ For many of us with disabilities, a mobility scooter is literally a life line – without it we are locked out further from the world around us. To tax the most disadvantaged in society in this way is simply disgraceful”.
With over 25,000 mobility scooters being bought each year by charities and individuals, the Government will be taking over £6 million pounds in tax from those who most need it.
It was only in 2007 that the EU imposed the opinion, albeit informally, themselves. The UK government then began claiming back the tax retrospectively from mobility scooter companies.
70’s pop star, Jim Dooley, Chairman of The Mobility Bureau – which is the UK’s largest supplier of Mobility Scooter through charitable organisations, said: ‘Mobility scooter distributors have tried not to pass on the extra burden to consumers, but in these difficult times, it’s not always easy. Enshrining this reclassification in to law, binding the UK and other countries to this tax is just plain wrong. We have tried to get the UK government to fight our corner, but now it seems it's too late. It’s a real slap in the face for small businesses and the disabled.’
Bryan Clover, a Director at Elizabeth Finn Care, said: 'Our research shows that disabled adults are twice as likely to live in low-income households, and the gap has grown over the last decade.
As a grant-giving charity, we often provide money for these scooters. Many individuals who need a mobility scooter are on a low-fixed-income, and will be liable for this tax, as will many of the small businesses that distribute these scooters. With the average scooter costing £2,500, and many disabled people already living in poverty - a 10% tax might not seem much for the MEP’s but, for many, every penny counts.'
The Customs Committee attended a demonstration of the scooters with legal representatives of mobility scooter companies last year. Not one person on the committee held a medical qualification or asked for a formal medical opinion.
ENDS
For information, photographs and interviews, please contact:
Rebecca Ward, Head of Communications. Telephone: 020 7396 6733 or Mobile: 07958 551855. rebecca.ward@elizabethfinn.org.uk 1 Derry Street, London W8 5HY
Notes to Editors:
· Photographs taken at Brands Hatch, Kent of a racing car alongside a mobility scooter. Gentleman photographed in the mobility scooter, Peter Gower, is available for interview.
· The European Union’s Customs Code Committee are due to meet between 1-3 July to formalise in to law the reclassification of mobility scooters, from ‘Carriages for the Disabled’ to ‘Motor Vehicles for the Transport of Persons’ (the same classification as a F1 car).
· The reclassification of the mobility scooters followed a World Customs Organisation opinion in 2005, which was aimed at the US market.
· In 2007 the EU caught on to the opinion and imposed it, albeit informally, themselves. The UK Government begun claiming back the tax retrospectively from mobility scooter companies.
· Elizabeth Finn Care is a charity that supports people struggling to cope with sudden or unexpected changes in their circumstances.
- Elizabeth Finn Care provides one-off and ongoing financial help, tailored to individual circumstances, as well as emotional support through our experienced caseworkers and national volunteer network.
Case study details
Case study – Peter Gower
Photograph available of Peter Gower in a Mobility Scooter, alongside a racing car.
It had always been Peter Gower’s dream to join the Army and this was finally realised in 1969, when he joined the Royal Army Ordnance Corps. In 1975 he was injured in an accident whilst posted in Germany. His back was broken and he went through a long period of rehabilitation, living in a plaster cast for months and learning to walk again.
Despite this, Peter returned to the Army and went on to serve in Northern Ireland and the Falkland Islands, leaving the Armed Forces in 1987. Over the years, the pain in Peter’s spine became worse and, around seven years ago, the pain he had been experiencing dramatically intensified. Peter is now registered disabled and is unable to get around without his wheelchair, stair lift and bed hoist.
Peter received a Mobility Scooter, which was bought for him by a charity, earlier this year. He says that it has completely changed his life,
“Before I had this scooter, I couldn’t really get out of the house and had to rely on my wife all the time. It was a very difficult, depressing and isolating time. Why anyone would want to put a tax on mobility scooters is beyond me – I mean, no one chooses to have these things. They’re a necessity, certainly not a luxury.”