Quotas 'seriously Important inadequate ' : John Peyton tax decision
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from R. H. Grimsley • The quotas of lorries allowed to enter France, Germany and Italy were seriously inadequate for British hauliers, said Mr John Peyton in the Commons.
Mr Peyton noted that the 1971-72 quota for West Germany was recently fixed at 3750 journeys, an increase of approximately 20 per cent on 1970-71.
The NATO and road/rail quotas remained unchanged at 1600 and 200 journeys respectively, he added.
Mr Peyton went on to list the restrictions imposed by other European countries.
Austria: 42 vehicles of one country may be in the other at any one time.
France: general-17,000 journeys a year; road/rail-3000 journeys a year (half convertible to general quota); cooperation— 2000 journeys a year.
Italy: general-3000 journeys a year; road/rail-1200 journeys a year (200 convertible to general quota); refrigerated vehicles-200 journeys a year.
Yugoslavia: general-2500 journeys a year.
Mr Peyton noted that no restrictions applied in Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Netherlands, Norway, Rumania and Sweden, and in countries where there was no bilateral agreement British hauliers had to apply to the authorities there. In general these countries were not restrictive.
Similarly, foreign hauliers had to obtain British short-term operators' licences, which were issued without restriction as to numbers.
Bilateral agreements were in various stages of negotiation with Bulgaria, Denmark, Greece, Hungary, Luxembourg, Spain and Switzerland.
Mr Douglas Dodds-Parker (Tory, Cheltenham), who had asked for these details wondered to what extent the prices of British exports to Europe were increased by the present limitations on the number of British vehicles permitted to deliver goods in Europe. But Mr Peyton told him that this information was not available. • The Court of Appeal has settled the case (November 3 1971) of Odeon Associated Theatres Ltd v Jones (Inspector of Taxes); permission for a further appeal to the House of Lords has been refused. Its effect will extend far beyond cinemas to include any kind of business premises taken over in a dilapidated condition, including warehouses and garages.
It had been settled in 1924 in the Law Shipping Co case that when a business took over an asset which was in poor condition, the cost of restoring it to good usable state was capital expenditure and so was not allowable as a deduction in arriving at the annual taxable profit.
However, when the Odeon took over the Regal Cinema, Marble Arch, in 1945 it was in a neglected state but it was quite possible to use it. Odeon claimed that the repair costs should be treated as an allowable revenue expense, their Inspector disagreed, and it has taken about 25 years for the dispute to be resolved Any firms which buy or lease premises which are in poor condition, and then spend heavily on repairs, could benefit from looking at the Odeon case.
Probably, if the condition was so rough that the premises could not be used at all until the repairs had been carried out, a claim for tax relief would not be successful, although in that event under modern law the cost should qualify as allowable in an eventual capital gains tax calculation if the building is ever resold. Also in the event of a tenant agreeing to pay for immediate repairs instead of paying a premium for a short lease, the cost of the repairs would be treated under the rules applicable to premiums instead of being an allowable revenue expense.