;hirt-ripping ;hancellor
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iE following is a copy of a tier sent by my husband to the lancellor of the Exchequer, the Honourable Sir Geoffrey Dwe, together with the shirt f his back. I think readers Bould see this letter.
. P. PALMER EAR SIR, PLEASE find the idosed shirt which you have ially managed to tax off my ick. You will find it a little ained with the sweat and toil of ght years trying to build up a isiness in road haulage. You ill also find the shirt tail ;rnewhat worn due to the .',icks in the pants" I have ceived during that time, kicks at come from all quarters, Dm my customers, from big 2sinesses like British Steel, the otor industry and others, from e oil companies and sheiks, Dm masses of restrictive and ;pensive (for me of course) gisiation, and the biggest and ost vicious kicks of all from )urself and your ilk,
At every Budget the road )ulage industry is grouped in ith the pleasure-seeking notorist" or even singled out r special taxation on the basis at "Joe Public" driving his car 1 the roads for his own selfish -atification will grant you some rm of forgiveness for your inor transgressions against
m if he can derive some idistic satisfaction in the iowledge that "those nasty big rries" are being viciously xed.
He, in common with yourself, )parently does not appreciate at these trucks are on the )ads to deliver to shops, ictories etc, your everyday ?eds. They are certainly not on le roads for pleasure, or even -ofit, any of that that was in the Oustry, has long since gone. I do not intend to tell you how to balance your books, but I will suggest you look at how our Continental partners treat the "lifeblood" of their industry. It should then become apparent to you why our industries are finding it so difficult to compete on equal terms in Europe.
I am sure that my Continental counterpart is not paying into his exchequer over three times the amount that he himself draws from his business, as I am. This does not include income tax; I don't earn enough to pay this.
I am not applying for Government aid, I am not applying for subsidies, I don't even want gratitude — just get off my back and allow me the chance to earn a living. Yours faithfully, P. B. PALMER Palmer Freight Bexhill-on-sea, Sussex We don't normally print copies of letters, but I have made an exception in this case, which is typical of many people's feelings in transport. Did readers notice that when TV first reported the Budget it was sometime before it was evident that the tax on motorists' petrol included derv? — Editor.
Three cheers for the YMT
HAVING READ the letter Bedford YMT Unlovable Rogue (CM,. February 21, p25) we would like to relate our experiences with the Bedford YMT-Series since 1977.
We have been running Bedford YMT chassis continually on Continental tours throughout the summer and winter, and we can honestly state that the Bedford YMT has given us excellent service and the aftersales service has been second to none both in the UK and on the Continent. At the present time we are running 24 Bedford YMT chassis, each vehicle covers on average 75,000 miles per year, and are all in excellent mechanical condition.
We have on order at the present time for 1981,15 Bedford YNT chassis, and if they give us the service that the YMT chassis have given us then we shall be satisfied indeed.
Three cheers for Bedford YMT. K. E. HENDERSON Chief Engineer Babb International Travel Pontypridd, Mid-Glamorgan
Leyland's cheap trick
AS A long-suffering tax-paying contributor to British Leyland, some of the discounting on this • company's commercial vehicles appears somewhat staggering.
Recognising that the cv market is having a difficult time and that some of the models on offer are now discounted, the prices being quoted could be argued as being justified.
However, one can only gaze in wonder at particular offers on two vehicles, both brand-new, flag-flying, widely acclaimed models —the Constructor eightwheeler at approximately 23 per cent discount and the T45 Roadtrain at 28 per cent discount.
On top of this, the dealer is probably taking five per cent as a profit margin which leads meta one of three conclusions: (1) Once more British Leyland is showing contemptuous disregard for the British taxpayer and dispensing largesse in the form of huge sums of our (the taxpayers') money. Easy come, easy go!
(2) By this action it is undermining its own market and devaluing its own product.
(3) That this supposedly superb, world-beating, first
class range of trucks is not all that it is made out to be, and as a result Leyland is desperately trying to clear its stocks.
It would be more reassuring to think that this enormous amount of money which British Leyland is giving away was instead better invested in perhaps training its sales teams to sell this product on merit instead of buying their customers. EDWARD McDOWELL Hendon, London NW4 if British Leyland does not maintain its market share, will not the injection of taxpayers' money have been in vain? After all, the company competes with other firms offering customer inducement. One dealer advertises the gift of a Ford Escort XR3, worth £5,500, with every purchase of a Transcontinental tractive unit — Editor.
Tacho victim gets redress
WE ARE yet another victim of overcharging for calibration of tachographs. We sent our Volvo lorry to F. G. Barnes of Guildforc to have the tachograph calibrated, which was a new on fitted by Volvo, and they charged us: For removing to refit tachograpl for test and adjustment of stylii E14.9 Calibration and seal drive £17.0 According to Tates of Horsham, all of this should come in the £17, which is a Government-stated price. E. A. BAKER
Forestry contractor Ripley, Surrey
Lucas Keinzle tells us that its agent has since refunded £l4.9.! to Mr Baker and that this charg( was made because of an administrative error. — Editor.